


It's a Hard Love (Oliver's POV)

by rangersandlegends



Series: Borrowing Problems from the Past [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Season 3 AU, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-05 09:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12187263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangersandlegends/pseuds/rangersandlegends
Summary: Oliver Queen doesn't feel like he has much going for him in his life. The woman he loves is with another man, his quest to save his city is going nowhere, and he feels as though his death must be imminent. But when a young girl enters his life claiming to be a member of his team from the future, maybe she can change all that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion fic to It's a Hard Love. You don't have to read that one to figure out what's going on here, but I think it would be helpful.

The night was quiet, and Oliver was glad for it. Although he was still looking for a line on the dealer of the newest drug craze in the Glades, he was thankful for a seemingly quiet patrol.

 

Felicity’s voice came over the comms. “Hey, I just found something odd in a recently filed police report. Says a girl was saved from a mugging by an arrow-wielding vigilante. Any of you guys stop a mugging a few hours ago?”

 

Everyone on the team denied it.

 

“Could it be Helena?” Oliver asked.

 

“That’s what I was thinking. I just checked, and the Huntress is still happily tucked away at Iron Heights.” That meant it was someone new.

 

“What’s the description of this new player?”

 

“Uh...small in stature, either a female or a smaller male, wore a blue hood, used a voice modulator.” That didn’t tell him much. “There have been similar reports of the figure striking out at gang members.”

 

“Everyone keep a sharp eye out tonight. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

 

“Copy”s came in from everyone on the team, leaving Oliver satisfied that they were all on the same page. He continued jumping from roof to roof, looking for anything suspicious. He finally settled on his favorite rooftop. It had the best vantage point of the city, and he had to admit the view was striking. Looking out at his city always reminded him of why he had chosen to defend it.

 

He saw something out of the corner of his eye. Not movement, exactly, but something out of place. There was something hidden behind a ventilation unit. He nocked an arrow and turned the corner. There was a person lying there. He turned on his voice modulator.

 

“Don’t move. Who are you and what are you doing in my city?”

 

Upon closer inspection, it was definitely the blue-hooded vigilante that Felicity had told him about. The person made a small movement, probably turning on their own voice modulator. He tightened his hold on his bow in defense.

 

“I’m no one you need concern yourself with.” The modulator made it hard to tell if the figure was male or female.

 

“Why did you stop that mugging?”

 

“Same reason you would have. It was the right thing to do.”

 

“And why have you been making your way through the gangs?”

 

“Nothing different from what you’ve been doing.” Of course it was different! Oliver was a known entity to the whole city, and, most importantly, to the city’s police force.

 

“The SCPD is looking for you.” The figure flinched slightly at that. Oh, so they didn’t know. Leverage.“I should bring you in.”

 

“That’s in neither of our best interests.”

 

“And what makes you think you know my best interest?” This know-it-all was starting to get on his nerves.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Oliver.”

 

Oliver released his arrow out of instinct. It wouldn’t have hit anything vital, but it would’ve shown the figure that he meant business. That move didn’t work, as they were able to catch the arrow. Now that was surprising. It was a move that very few had perfected. But Oliver had no time for shock and awe. He needed to take down this unknown quantity now.

 

They were able to dodge his first few punches and kicks, almost as if they knew exactly what he was going to do. He was larger than his opponent, and he had the proportional strength. But his opponent was fast and seemed to know his moves. It was almost as if he were fighting-but it couldn’t be. She was dead. _Maybe the League sent someone after me_. But why dress her like this? It wasn’t typical League attire, and certainly not typical League weaponry.

 

His opponent switched up the speed of their attacks. He blocked a few, but got hit by two. He then switched up his pacing, managing to get a hit on their head. Their hood fell off and-

 

He was faced with a young blonde girl, wearing a blue mask like his green one. He staggered back. She couldn’t have been more than eighteen.

 

“How... old are you?”

 

“It’s rude to ask a girl her age.”

 

Oliver didn’t understand who this girl could be. His confusion cost him a hit to the stomach and then one to the head. That didn’t stop him from pressing the girl.

 

“How do you know my name?” He might’ve just confirmed that he was Oliver Queen, but his need to know outweighed his caution at this point. Who was this girl? He dodged another one of her kicks, and grabbed her elbow when she tried to jab him. He quickly twisted her arm around her back and asked her the question again, in the fiercest voice he could.

 

“How do you know my name?” The girl just nothing, just continuing to flail about. He used it against her, pushing her and causing her to fall, then pinning her down. He didn’t want to lose the momentary advantage. He needed to find out everything about this girl and her agenda. He grabbed a tranq arrow and stabbed her in the arm. It only took a few seconds for her to stop resisting and black out.

 

“I found our blue-hooded vigilante. She’s a young girl, and she can fight. I’m bringing her in now.”


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver hauled her back to the bunker. He was just getting her down the stairs when Felicity came to meet him at the bottom.

 

“Oh God. Oh. You brought her here. You drugged her and...is she a teenage girl? Did you drug a teenage girl and bring her down here?!?”

 

Oliver ignored Felicity’s protests, set the girl down in a chair, and zipcuffed her to it. He put her out of the way, facing away from them. When she came to, he wanted her to see nothing. 

 

“Oliver. What were you thinking?” Felicity was apparently adamant on making her point.

 

“Take her picture and run facial recognition, for starters. Oh, and I found this tech on her. See if you can figure it out.” Oliver took off her mask, and, for good measure, turned off her voice modifier. Then he handed her small device over to Felicity.

 

“Sure, I’ll just take a picture of the hostage in our basement,” Felicity grumbled, but still grabbed her phone and complied with his request. 

 

“What else was I supposed to do with her, Felicity?” 

 

“Oh, I don’t know, Oliver, anything but sling her over your back and bring her to your secret lair! The police are looking for her!”

 

“I’m aware of that. But she knows my identity, so I need to figure out what else she knows.”

 

“And how exactly are you going to figure that out? Are you going to torture a young girl?” Of course Oliver didn’t plan on doing that.  _ Did he? _ “From what I can tell, she hasn’t done anything wrong. She’s probably just a copycat vigilante with a little bow and arrow trying to be just like her hero. I think it’s cute.”

 

“It’s not cute. She’s putting herself in harm’s way.”

 

“I don’t know. The way she kept pace with you, it seems she can handle herself.” Oliver had nothing to say to that. Felicity wasn’t wrong; the girl had some serious skills. It was one of many things he needed to figure out about her.

 

“What’s this I hear about you almost being taken out by a little girl?” Dig’s voice broke through the deafening silence as he came down the stairs. Oliver sighed. Apparently, it was going to be awhile until he lived this one down. 

 

“She wasn’t a...Felicity, have you found anything on facial recognition?” Whatever Felicity was about to say was cut off by the sound of the girl. Her real voice, no voice modifier. 

 

“Where am I?” Good. The girl was disoriented, but not still drugged up. Oliver turned on his own voice modifier, and gestured to Felicity and Dig to stay silent. He walked up to stand behind the girl, casting an intimidating silhouette. 

 

“I’ll be asking the questions around here. What’s your name?”

 

“Anna.” She was quick to use it. Judging by her other skills, she wouldn’t be just giving out her real name. It was a fake.

 

“What are you doing in Starling City?”

 

“It’s my home.” He believed that. He didn’t think she was League.

 

“Where’d you get your arrows?”

 

“I made them.” Doubtful. He had taken a look at them. They were seemingly made of the same carbonite as his, only blue. The resources she would have to employ to have that kind of tech meant either money or thievery. 

 

“And your suit?” 

 

“....A friend of mine made it for me.” More vague posturing. 

 

“Who trained you?” 

 

“A guy good with a bow and arrow.” Now she was just getting on his nerves.

 

“How did you know who I am?”

 

“Oliver Queen goes missing for five years, comes back to Starling and the very next week the vigilante shows up? Not hard to figure out.” 

 

Oliver deactivated his voice modulator and stepped around so he could look at the girl face-to-face. The girl seemed surprised to see him.  _ Why? She already claimed to know I was Oliver Queen.  _

 

“Were you just trying to get my attention, or were you trying to get yourself killed?”

 

“Neither. I have my own problems that don’t involve you.” She was certainly spunky. 

 

“I’m not letting you leave here until I figure out who you are.”

 

“Fine. Then I’ll just leave of my own accord.” And just like that, she got up out of her chair and sauntered out of the room. She had broken out of her zip cuffs without him noticing. This was getting more interesting by the second. He took a few quick steps and grabbed her arm. He needed to know.

 

“Who are you?” He turned her around to look her in the eye again, with his curiosity surely betrayed on his face. 

 

“I’m a Traveller... from the future.”


	3. Chapter 3

“No way.” Of course Felicity would break her silence in order to geek out about someone hypothetically being from the future. “What? You think I’m not going to freak out about a time traveller from the future?”

 

The girl turned toward Oliver, as if he was going to have a response to this. 

 

“How can you be...what are you….okay.” Oliver did what he always did when he was in way over his head: he turned toward Felicity. As always, she had his back, giving him time to compose himself.

 

“Do they have flying cars in the future? Has the Riemann Hypothesis been solved yet? Ooh who’s the Doctor on Doctor Who in your time? And what-” Oliver figured out what he needed to say, and said it.

 

“If you’re from the future, can you prove it?” If she was from the future, then she was. If she wasn’t, she wasn’t. Simple as that.

 

“I’m sure you’ve gotten a chance to examine my tablet. You tell me what you think.” Oliver turned to look at Felicity, who was holding said object in her hand.

 

“I was wondering about that. The tech is beyond anything I’ve ever seen, Oliver. I can’t even get it to work. If anyone’s from the future, it’s her.” 

 

Oliver realized he was still holding onto the girl, and loosened his grip a bit. Apparently Felicity didn’t think the girl was dangerous. He brought her over to the computer station where Felicity was and handed her her tablet. The girl took it and swiped at it a few times, causing Felicity to stare at her like she was a wonder to behold. The girl gave Felicity the tablet back.  _ Okay, Oliver, assuming the girl’s from the future, then what? That doesn’t answer your original question: why is she in Starling City dressed up to stop muggings? _

 

“Let’s say you are from the future. Why are you here?” It felt like such an odd thing to say, but there it was.

 

“It’s kind of a long story.” Oliver let go of the girl. If she was a threat, she would’ve hurt all of them by now.

 

“I’ve got time.” The girl made herself comfortable in Felicity’s chair, earning a glare from Oliver. Only one girl was supposed to be sitting in that chair, and it certainly wasn’t this one.

 

“I’m a vigilante. I fight crime, especially threats the police can’t deal with. Where I’m from, one of those threats is a speedster, a metahuman like the Flash. He calls himself Momentum. Usually speedsters are the Flash’s territory, but this one is different. He only appears in Star….ling City, and it’s rare that he shows up at all. Yesterday, or what was yesterday for me, he appeared in the city. Speeding into businesses to rob the tills, whipping up a few dust storms, that sort of thing. Nothing that I couldn’t handle - at least that’s what I thought. When I finally had him cornered, he started taunting me. Basic villain stuff. Before I could lay a hand on him, he had sped away and came back with my little brother.” 

 

Here the girl stopped. She was actually getting emotional about it. Either her story was true, or the girl was very, very good.  _ Does she have any reason to lie? _ Oliver chided himself. Of course she did. Everyone does.

 

He prompted her to continue her story. “What did he do with your brother?”

 

“Momentum has the ability to travel through time.” As crazy as that was, it was no crazier than the girl sitting in front of him. “He created a time portal and took my brother through it. I followed him. That time portal led to here and now. I just want to find my brother and make Momentum pay for what he did.” 

 

If she was from the future, she couldn’t have been from that far. She claimed Oliver had trained her, and that seemed true based on her fighting style. Oliver knew he wouldn’t be living more than a year, tops, with the threat of Ra’s on his back. If Oliver had trained this girl, it would have to be in the short time before his imminent death.

 

No one said anything for some time, since there really wasn’t a good way to respond to a story like that. Then Felicity walked over to the girl and put her hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. 

 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. But we’re going to help you get your brother back.” 

 

Oliver didn’t understand. Felicity clearly believed the girl, but how was he supposed to go up against some evil speedster to help this girl’s kidnapped brother? Assuming any of this was true?

 

“I’m sorry about your brother, I really am, but if you need help dealing with...with an evil speedster, then I’m not sure we can do much to help you. Why don’t you ask the Flash for help?”

 

“Because I can’t mess up the timeline in that way. There are certain events in Central City that need to remain the way they are.” Whatever that meant. It sounded like a thinly veiled excuse to stay by Oliver’s side, which Oliver didn’t like at all.

 

“How do you think we can help you, then?” Dig finally joined the conversation. Why was he in on this? Was he trusting of this girl as well?

 

“Ooh, I have some ideas! We could run facial recognition to see if that speedster or your brother was in the area.” Felicity was clearly excited by the prospect of using her tech.

 

“Yeah, I already tried that, actually.” The girl was apparently making herself comfortable. She turned toward Felicity’s computers and started typing. “I haven’t gotten any hits yet, but I suppose I could try expanding the search parameters.” 

 

“Wait, how did you….how did you already run a search on my computers?”

 

“I came in here earlier to do a work-up and kept the results on my tablet.” How did she get here earlier? Felicity had the place perfectly secure-no one could get in.  _ Unless she knew the code _ .

 

“No, you didn’t. If you had run a search, I would’ve noticed. There’s nothing you can hide on my computers from me.” 

 

“Actually, this model has a bug in it that allows me to hide search histories in a dark space.”  _ And she knows her way around Felicity’s computers _ .

 

“But these are the newest models.” Things were clicking in Oliver’s head. It was almost as if the girl were...part of the team.

 

“So you know my identity, you know the location of the bunker and how to get in, and you’re a vigilante? Tell me, ‘Anna’, do we happen to know each other in the future?” 


	4. Chapter 4

The girl was squirming in her seat. Oliver had caught onto something substantial, and he wasn’t letting go.

 

“I help out your team occasionally. It means I know who you are and where to find you.” So this girl knew him. She was a future member of the team! 

 

“So we’re friends?” Okay, Felicity clearly had a different idea of how they knew this girl.

 

“More like...allies. You helped me out a lot when I was first starting out, though.” 

 

“Is that why you fight with a bow and arrow? Am I the one that taught you?”  _ If he had taught this girl to fight, he must be getting better. She was an excellent fighter. _

 

“You just wanted to make sure I had a weapon when I went out at night.” That was neither a yes nor a no. Funny how the girl kept doing that.

 

“Why didn’t you stay on as part of the team, like Roy?” Dig stole what would’ve been Oliver’s next question. 

 

“It’s complicated. In the future, things are different. It’s better if we remain separated.” Oliver suspected it was because he was dead in the future.

 

“How are we supposed to trust you? Even if we believe you’re from the future, why should I believe we’re allies?” 

 

She took the edge of her neckline and moved it out of the way, so Oliver could see a thin silver chain hanging from her neck. When she pulled it out, he had to stop himself from gasping. It was the arrow necklace he had made out of carbon fiber composite. Just months ago. 

 

“You gave me this on the day of my first mission without you.” 

 

“Amazing,” he murmured.  _ Where did I put it? _ He walked over to a cabinet and dug around in it for a moment before finding the drawer he wanted with the necklace inside. He showed it to her. “I just made this.”

 

“Do you trust me now?”

 

“Yes.” Dig and Felicity both looked surprised that this necklace was the turning point. But Oliver understood. 

 

Right before Dig’s son was born, he made a deal with Felicity: he would get a present for all of Dig’s daughters and Felicity would get one for all of Dig’s sons. Dig’s first child was a son, so Felicity got him a beautiful blanket. Oliver held onto the necklace he had made, assuming he was going to give it to Dig’s first daughter.  _ Could she be Dig’s daughter _ ? No, she was too old, and she couldn’t have been from that far in the future if Oliver was around to train her. But she was clearly someone important.

 

“So will you help me get my brother back?” Anna drew his focus back to her and her mission.

 

“If you think I can help you, then I’ll do whatever I have to, yes.” He didn’t see himself as having a choice; Anna had proven her worth in her fighting skills and with the necklace. He’d trust his future self in trusting her.

 

“Alright, so we’re going to go fight an evil speedster that we can’t find! Go team!” Felicity didn’t seem very excited by the prospect of beginning a mission with no clear starting point.

 

Dig interrupted with some helpful information. “Lyla might be able to help with that. The ARGUS satellites could have picked up on something that CCTV couldn’t. She’s at home. Let me go talk to her.” 

 

“Actually, why don’t we all head over to your place? I’m sure Anna could use a bite to eat and a place to crash.” He didn’t want to add that his tranq arrow was probably doing a number on her system, as that was his fault.

 

Anna was a little more stubborn than that. “I’m not doing any of those things until I have my brother, safe and sound. I can go with Lyla to ARGUS, help her trace speedster energy signatures.” 

 

“We’ll see what Lyla says about that. For now, let’s all head over there so we can brief her.” 

 

“Fine.” Oliver had to laud Anna for her determination. But even he knew that things had to be taken one step at a time. 

 

Oliver led Anna up to the van and they rode in silence to Dig’s apartment. Oliver didn’t mind the peace and quiet, but he could tell Anna was in the back, deep in thought.  _ She probably does have a lot to think about. She’s a time traveller on a rescue mission _ . 

 

When they walked into Dig’s place, Oliver saw that John Jr. was crying. Lyla was trying to calm the fussy baby down. 

 

“Johnny, you’re back.” She glanced at Anna and Oliver. “And you brought some friends with you.”

 

“Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but we need your help.” Dig took the baby from Lyla. Ever the polite one, he introduced the two strangers in the room. “Anna, this is my son, John Jr.” 

 

Anna shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, John. You’re such a good boy, yes you are, yes you are.” Apparently this blue-hooded vigilante had a thing for babies.  _ Her and Felicity both _ . He could remember meeting John Jr. at the hospital and having Felicity freak out about how cute he was. Right before- _ Don’t think about that, Oliver. Focus on the here and now _ . 

 

“Hi, my name is Anna.” Lyla and Anna shook hands.

 

“Lyla Michaels. My husband says you need my help?”

 

The mission was one thing, but he knew the tranq arrow usually caused severe hunger in its victims. “Actually, Lyla, maybe we could talk about this over dinner?” 

 

“How about breakfast? It is five in the morning after all. Johnny, why don’t you put Junior back to bed? I’ll make us some eggs.”

 

Oliver started helping Lyla in the kitchen, more familiar with the one here than he had been with either of the ones at the mansion. “So, we’re actually on the hunt for a drug lord who’s distributing the new strain of Vertigo.”

 

“Oliver, you know that kind of thing is below ARGUS’ radar.”

 

“I know. I was just saying if you get any leads, you should follow up with us.”

 

“You know I always do.” Lyla turned to address Anna. “So, Anna, where are you from?”

 

Anna was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, lost in her own little world. He hailed her attention. “Anna?” 

 

“Yes?”

 

“Lyla was just asking you about where you’re from.”

 

“Oh, sorry. I’m from here, Starling City. Born and raised.” Interesting. Oliver was willing to believe that. Maybe she had seen the destruction of her city and sought him out to join the team?

 

“How do you know Oliver?” Lyla asked.

 

“That’s a long story.” Oliver knew they could trust Lyla, but maybe this girl didn’t. He would have to communicate that to her somehow.    
  


“I’m guessing from your get-up that he’s training you.”

 

“Oh, um, you could say that.” It was a good thing Lyla knew when a topic was off-limits. It would make small talk awkward, but Lyla didn’t really need it. Dig came in from the nursery and Lyla and Oliver had the food ready, so they all sat down to eat. 

 

“So, Anna, what can I help you with?” Lyla had really cut the small talk. Oliver looked toward Anna to see what she wanted from the ARGUS agent. Instead, he saw that she had loaded her eggs with salsa. Turns out he had taught his trainee more than fighting techniques. 

 

“I’m tracking a speedster. He took something of mine that I need back, and I know that ARGUS’ satellites have the data I need to track speedster energy signatures.” 

 

Lyla seemed to consider Anna’s words. “We do, but if there’s a speedster in Starling City, then you need to let ARGUS handle it. We’re trained to handle paranormal threats in a way a vigilante just can’t. Give me all the intel you have on this speedster, and I’ll make sure he’s taken care of and your property is returned to you.” 

 

Dig seemed to understand that this wasn’t the best way to handle things. He pressed his wife further. “Lyla, you know that I don’t want to put civilians in harm’s way any more than you do. But Anna is the only one who can deal with this particular speedster, trust me.” 

 

“And why’s that? Because she’s young and inexperienced? Is that why I should allow her to go up against a powerful metahuman? ARGUS will ascertain the threat and bring him in, and that’s final.” 

 

Oliver hesitated, but then decided to speak up. This wasn’t an ARGUS mission, but if Anna needed Lyla’s help, he’d get it for her. “It’s more complicated than that, Lyla. I’m convinced that Anna is the only one who can bring this speedster in.” 

 

“Why is this the first time I hear you’re training a new recruit, Johnny? And where did this speedster come from in the first place? Things aren’t adding up here.”

 

“Well the short explanation is-” 

 

That’s when Oliver saw that Lyla wasn’t going to be forthcoming with the information he needed unless he was forthcoming with the information he already had. And he knew they could trust her. “She’s from the future, and so’s the speedster.” Confusion flashed across Lyla’s face. “Trust me, I don’t get it either.” 

 

Anna rolled her eyes. “I followed the speedster through time in order to stop him and to rescue my brother. You’re the only one who can help me.”

 

Lyla didn’t seem too surprised by this information.  _ So ARGUS is already aware of time travel. Good to know. _

 

“If there’s a metahuman running around who is in the wrong time period, then we have to send him back. And I still believe that ARGUS is the best way to do that. We have a lot more resources-”

 

Anna cut her off. “But not the right ones. I’ve fought this speedster before. He’s my problem, not yours. And telling all of ARGUS about time travel will only change the future in inalterable ways. I need this to be as covert as possible.” Lyla and Anna then started what seemed like a staring contest. He understood Anna’s desire to forfeit help. 

 

Lyla finally relented. “Fine. I’ll go to ARGUS and search for the speedster with whatever parameters you need. But if I see this getting out of hand or this speedster goes public, I will be involving ARGUS and briefing them on all of this. Got it?”

 

“I can’t come with you?”

 

“I can’t bring a teenager with no clearance into one of the most secure buildings in the world, no.” 

 

“Then how will you know how to program the search?”

 

“You can program it for me here, and I’ll just bring it in remotely. It’s that or nothing.”

 

Anna backed down. “Alright.”

 

Oliver was glad that was settled. He had given Anna the help she had needed, and he trusted this future team member to sort things out herself. “Thank you for...breakfast? But I have to get going. Mysterious drug lords aren’t going to find themselves.” Oliver needed to go get some rest, and this girl apparently wasn’t going to stop. He tapped her on the shoulder and beckoned for her to follow him on his way out. 

 

“Try to get some rest, alright? I know what you’re thinking, but you’re no use to your brother like this.” She nodded, and Oliver felt confident she’d be better in Dig’s care than in his. He left.


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver left Dig’s place and went for a run, ending up back at the Bunker. He took a power nap, and then started his training regimen, only letting himself stop to go out and get lunch from a local deli. He tried to put thoughts of Anna out of his head. She had probably already caught the speedster by now.

 

He looked up when Dig came down the stairs, hoping that Dig would inform him that all was well. 

 

“How’d things go with Lyla?”

 

“Don’t get me started, man.”

 

“That bad?”

 

“Lyla was able to track the speedster using Anna’s program and we went to confront him. Anna insisted on getting in a fight with him. On her own. That little girl against a speedster. She turned off her comms and refused any help.”

 

“Did she tell you how the fight went? Did she get her brother?”

 

“No, man. She lost. Lyla insists that ARGUS take over now. The girl’s out of the game.”

 

Oliver really didn’t care who took down the speedster, as long as they were taken down. But Anna was so insistent that it be her; he trusted her but still wondered why.

 

“Where’s the girl now?”

 

“She wanted to see Felicity, so I dropped her off at Palmer Tech.”  _ Palmer Tech _ . Oliver didn’t think he’d ever get used to that.  _ Or the man running it _ .

 

Dig wrapped his hands, obviously preparing to spar with Oliver, and they got to it.

 

After a bit, Roy and Laurel came down the stairs. They approached Dig and Oliver, who stopped sparring for the moment.

 

“Hey, what’s up?” Roy asked.

 

“Today has been...unusual,” Dig answered.

 

“What do you mean, unusual?” Laurel had a confused look on her face.

 

“A girl named Anna who we all know in the future has come back in time in order to fight a speedster and rescue her brother.” Oliver was met with blank looks from Roy and Laurel.

 

Roy piped up. “Cool.”

 

Oliver went to go grab a drink of water, and Laurel followed. “What do you mean, time travel? You say that like it’s real.”

 

“Oh, it is.”

 

“And you, Mr. Skeptical, you believe her?”

 

“She showed us proof, Laurel. And don’t act like this is the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard.”

 

Laurel paused. “True. But still. So, how do we know her?”

 

“Apparently in the future, I train her to be part of this team, except she ends up on her own. I don’t know. It’s all...complicated.”

 

“I’ll say.”

 

“You and Roy go ahead and get some practice in. We still have a bit of time before Felicity comes back.”

 

Roy began practicing with his bow and Laurel with her bo staff. Finally, the sound of Felicity’s heels came down the stairs. Anna was following her, carrying food, which she helped Felicity put on the table.

 

Roy saw her first. “You must be the future girl. I’m Roy,” he said as he waved his hand in greeting. 

 

“Yep, that’s me.”

 

Laurel came up from behind Anna. “So you’re the mysterious Anna. It’s nice to meet you, unless we’ve met already, in the future. I’m Laurel Lance.” Laurel and Anna shook hands.

 

“Yeah, I got it,” Anna said.  Oliver and the others began to eat, and Oliver couldn’t help but notice that as soon as she was done touching Laurel, Anna scampered to get as far away from her as possible. She avoided making eye contact with anyone the entire meal, and didn’t say a word.  _ Makes sense. That’s really not much she can say. _

 

Felicity yelped and Oliver looked up. Was something distressing her?

 

“Ugh, it’s a text from Ray. I’m sorry, but he needs me back at work. You guys can handle this one without me, right?”  _ No, we can’t. We need you here, not with Palmer. _

 

Oliver nodded his head in approval, reminding himself that Felicity wasn’t his employee. 

 

“Actually, Anna, you can run comms tonight!” If Felicity wasn’t going to do it, someone was going to have to step up and replace her.  _ Prove that he didn’t need Felicity if she’s going to choose Palmer _ .

 

Dig chimed in. “That’s probably not a good idea. Anna isn’t exactly comm-friendly.” Well, there was that, but Anna could probably handle it just fine based on all of the tech she’d been handling all day. 

 

“Surely she can handle pressing a few buttons and unlocking a few doors? Felicity, you go ahead. Anna has us more than covered.” Oliver watched her leave with a pang in his heart. Had he insulted her work? Yes. Did it feel good? No. But  _ she  _ was leaving  _ him _ . “Everyone suit up. I’ll brief Anna on the details.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Anna? Do you copy?” Oliver had made it to the warehouse Felicity had mapped out without a problem. There just happened to be a digital lock on the door, meaning he’d need help from his current computer tech. 

 

“Copy.”

 

“There’s a door with a numerical key. Can you open it remotely?” Oliver was surprised how quickly the keypad lit up green. It was faster than Felicity would’ve done it, that’s for sure.

 

“That was rather fast.” 

 

“I have future tech.” She might have had a point, but the girl was apparently not to be underestimated both in the field or out of it. 

 

Oliver got into some quick skirmishes with bodyguards or hit men or whoever happened to be guarding the drug supply. He didn’t even have to take out his arrows to take them down, only using his bow to knock the last man unconscious. This was going to be easier than he expected. Laurel, Roy, and Dig came up behind him, having finished their men off. They found the drug lord cowering among his supply, easy for Oliver to take down. Now all that was left was to inform the SCPD of their find.

 

“Anna?” 

 

“Copy.” 

 

“We got the guy. Call Lance.” After he said it, he realized that maybe they weren’t working with Captain Lance in the future. But Anna didn’t say anything, so he assumed he had figured out what they were talking about. A minute later, he heard Anna’s voice in his ear again.

 

“Arrow, I got the Captain the location.” 

 

“Good, we’re heading home.”

 

Another successful night out, proving the team could function without Felicity, who was absent more and more often as of late.  _ Is it her absence that bothers you, or who she’s being absent with?  _ Oliver shook off the thought and returned to the bunker. 

 

The team was in good spirits after the success of the mission, and Oliver gave Laurel and Roy the rest of the night off. Once they were gone, he would usually enjoy a drink with Dig, but he had forgotten that Anna was still there. He hesitated on what to do with her. 

 

Dig picked up on his hesitation, and filled in the gap. “You still need a place to crash for the night, Anna? Lyla’s still out with her team looking for your speedster, but you’re welcome to sleep on the couch again.”

 

“No, I don’t want to be a bother. Besides, there’s still some research I’d like to do here, so I’ll just crash here.” 

 

“Alright, well, good night.” Dig left Oliver alone with Anna, causing him to suddenly not know what to say, or what to do with his hands. 

 

“You heading out?” she asked, obviously looking for an out to the awkward situation. If only it were that easy.

 

“I, um, I actually live here.”

 

“Here?” She glanced at the rather bare surroundings. “Where do you sleep?”

 

“There’s a mattress in the corner. But you’re welcome to have it tonight. I’ll sleep on the practice mats.” It wasn’t ideal, but he had had far worse on the island.

 

“Look, I know you’re used to spartan living after your time on the island, but I’m the one putting you out. I’ll take the mats, you just sleep on your mattress. Besides, I’ll be up late, researching.” It wasn’t a secret that Oliver Queen had lived on an island for 5 years, but it was still odd to hear Anna saying it, especially since that was what he was just thinking about.  _ Research? What more does she need to know? _

 

“And what, exactly, are you researching?”

 

“Facts about this year that made the speedster want to come here in the first place.” So a history lesson, then.

 

“Dig told me a little bit about your encounter with the speedster, but did he say what he wanted? What was the reason he was looking for you?” 

 

“He didn’t say.” Once again, Anna wasn’t being forthcoming with him.  “The guy’s a psychopath, alright? Capturing my brother and then looking for me to flaunt it in my face is par for the course. I guess I’ll just hope that ARGUS has better luck getting my brother back.”

 

This girl was putting far too much trust in ARGUS. He shouldn’t let her get her hopes up. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but ARGUS can’t always be, well, they can’t always be trusted. Sometimes they act in their own best interest when it comes to dealing with criminals.”

 

“You mean Waller might put the speedster on the Suicide Squad? Tell me something I don’t know.”  _ She knows about Task Force X?  _ That was strange. The only other one on the team who knew about that was Dig, and that was only because of Lyla. Oliver wasn’t accustomed to sharing non-Arrow activities with his teammates.

 

“I’m just saying that putting a speedster from the future on the Squad might not be the best idea.”

 

“I already tried to convince Lyla that ARGUS shouldn’t be dealing with the speedster, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I’m not concerned what will happen if she captures him, I’m worried about what will happen if she doesn’t.”

 

“You think she’ll lose?”

 

“I’m confident she will. But she knows the risks, so what could I say to her?”

 

“It sounds like you had a lot you wanted to say to her. You don’t seem like someone who has a problem saying what’s on your mind.”  _ Even if it’s half-truths and deceptions _ .

 

“My concern is that the speedster might hurt my brother if Lyla goes after him.”

 

“Why? He didn’t hurt him when you went after him. So that’s not part of whatever his crazy plan is.” Maybe the speedster was planning on using her brother for leverage. It was the only play Oliver could think of that made sense.

 

“I always worry about my brother. He’s my responsibility, and if he gets hurt, then it’s my fault.” Now that sounded like something that his future trainee had learned from him. And something he was trying to unlearn himself. 

 

“Take it from someone who sometimes feels like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders: this speedster taking your brother was something no one could’ve seen coming. It’s not your fault that he’s in this position, it’s just something that happened.” 

 

“Maybe you’re right. Anyway, I really want to get this research done.”

 

“Right. Good night then.” Oliver was relieved that the conversation was over. He had no idea what else to talk to the girl about. He went to sleep on the practice mats, which he had done before he had moved the mattress in. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as it looked, especially since the bunker was kept at a pleasant temperature. It had been an odd day, but a good one nonetheless. They had caught the criminal they’d be hunting for days, and the team was still safe. With that in mind, it was easy for him to fall a **s** leep. 


	7. Chapter 7

Oliver woke up differently than he normally did: in the light. He had left the big industrial lights in the bunker on the night before. And he was laying on the practice mats. It took him a moment before he remembered he had a guest. He went to go find her, and saw that she was still sleeping on his mattress. She didn’t exactly look peaceful, but she was completely still. Oliver saw no reason to wake her, and began his morning routine. 

 

He began working with the practice dummy, with more than one thought going through his head. Mainly he was concerned about ARGUS swarming the city looking for this speedster. Even though they were a government organization, the fact that they lacked marketing skills meant they had yet to go fully public. Oliver preferred it that way. It was safer for his city. He also thought about Anna. Last night had shown him how easily she’d fit in as one of the team in the future, and already Oliver thought about her like she was one of their own. He wasn’t sure what she would do now. Go home? How would she even do that if the speedster was the one controlling the time travelling? No, he supposed, she would stay until the speedster was taken off the board. It’s what he would do. 

 

He turned and saw Anna standing there, clad in a t-shirt and loose sweatpants. “Good morning.”

 

“Good morning. What did that practice dummy ever do to you?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, just going through the paces, I guess.” All of the thoughts racing through his head had been taken out on the dummy. It’s the only way he knew to work through things like this.

 

“You want a real opponent?” Of course he did. He needed to prove to himself that almost losing to her, his own student, on the rooftop that night had been a fluke.

 

“Sure. How are you with with one of those?” He handed her a bo staff, wondering if he had trained her in it, or just with the bow and arrow.

 

“We’ll have to see.” Another cagey answer. 

 

Oliver started off the fight with basic strike patterns, holding back on his blows. He wanted to see what Anna was made of. Turns out that was a mistake, as she quickly swept his legs, landing him on the floor.

 

“Don’t go easy on me.” No, he certainly didn’t need to be making that error. Once he hopped up, the fight became almost...fun. She was an excellent opponent, agile and sure-footed. She even threw in a few moves he didn’t know, moves that looked like... _ no, it couldn’t be _ . It took a lot of effort to get her off balance, but he finally did, striking her left arm in the process. It quickly turned red.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” But before he could properly apologize, Anna had swept his legs again, as if he hadn’t just stopped the fight to say sorry. 

 

“Why didn’t you stop? You’re bleeding.”

 

She glanced down as if to check the veracity of his statement. Her face remained impartial. 

 

“My opponent isn’t going to stop a battle because of a little blood, so neither am I.” What? This was training. It certainly wasn’t how he trained Roy or Laurel, so why was she acting like their sparring match was akin to life-or-death? “Where’s your med kit?”

 

Oliver pointed it out, and moved to help her put a bandage on, but she turned away from him. Just to be certain he asked, “Do you need help with that?”

 

“No, I’m good.” Oliver thought back to the fight.  _ What just happened? _ He didn’t mind losing at sparring; it rarely happened, but he was glad to know his friends could fight well. What he did mind was losing a fight to someone who almost looked like they had League training.

 

“Where did you learn to fight like that?”

 

“I told you before, you trained me.”

 

“You used some techniques I don’t even know about. You actually reminded me of a friend of mine.” 

 

“Really? Who?”  _ Don’t think about Sara. _

 

“It doesn’t matter. She’s...gone now. Anyway, I should get back to training.” 

 

Once Anna had her bandage in place, Oliver retreated to the salmon ladder and Anna to the practice dummy, where they worked out in silence. Anna was hitting the dummy almost as hard as Oliver had hit it earlier. She clearly had a lot on her mind, too.

 

After a bit, Oliver’s phone rang. He dropped off the ladder and went to pick it up. Before he had said a word, Dig’s voice came on the line.

 

“They can’t find the speedster. Waller needs Anna at ARGUS ASAP.” And Dig hung up. 

 

“That was Dig. ARGUS’ mission with the speedster is going south. They need you to come in.”


	8. Chapter 8

Oliver swiped his ARGUS badge off the counter and took Anna up the stairs and into the back alley where his Ducati was parked. He grabbed his helmet and offered Anna Felicity’s...or, at least, the spare. She got on behind him in a practiced motion. This was clearly old hat to her. 

 

Once they were inside, Oliver walked right up to the desk and presented his badge. He told the guard that Anna had a meeting with Director Waller. The guard called it in and ushered them through any security measures. Oliver glanced back at Anna. She clearly seemed uncomfortable in this environment. So she was familiar with ARGUS, but had never been there herself. Good. He didn’t like the idea of his teammates getting into messes with the organization.

 

They got to command central and found Amanda Waller. Before Oliver could say a word, Waller made his presence known. 

 

“Oliver Queen, how nice of you to join us. And I see you brought our time traveller.” Of course Waller knew. And of course she wasn’t even uncomfortable discussing time travel. The woman probably knew all about aliens as well.

 

“Director. I brought her in, as requested. I’ll leave you to talk.” Oliver knew that if he wanted to find up what was going on with the mission, talking to Waller would only lead to dead ends. He needed to find Dig and Lyla. 

 

As Waller was distracted with Anna, Oliver wandered the corridors until he found Lyla. 

 

“Oliver, what are you-”

 

“Is this really the best idea? Marching her into ARGUS and demanding information from her?”

 

“The Director can’t find the speedster using Anna’s program. She think she sabotaged it.”

 

“And what do you think?”

 

“I think Anna designed a good program. But good can only get you so far. We need her best.”

 

“So you’re just going to keep her here until what?”

 

“Until she finds the speedster, apparently.”

 

Dig walked in on Oliver and Lyla arguing. Oliver turned to Dig. “If I had known she was being brought here for this-”

 

“You would’ve what, Oliver? You know Amanda Waller doesn’t play nice. And you brought her here anyway.”

 

Oliver took a step toward Dig. “She’s a member of the team, Dig. She’s proven that several times over. And we don’t let teammates down. Not like this.” And he stormed off. 


	9. Chapter 9

Oliver wandered the halls for a bit, getting many a questioning look from the many agents. He eventually ended up in what could only be the employee cafeteria. Realizing he hadn’t eaten all day, he grabbed himself a sandwich and sat in a corner to eat it. Once that was done, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. So he called Felicity. She picked up right away.

 

“Oliver, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing. Maybe. I don’t know anymore.”

 

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

 

“ARGUS has Anna. They’re using her to find the speedster, somehow. They’re holding her here until she does.”

 

“That doesn’t sound so bad. Being stuck in a room coding all day, I mean.”

 

“That? No. But I’m concerned what Waller might do if push comes to shove. Maybe even use her as bait.”

 

“Oh. That would be bad.”

 

“Exactly. We need to get her out of here.”

 

“How are you going to sneak her out of ARGUS? It’s not exactly like you’re on the best terms with Waller…” Maybe not, but he could be again.   
  


“I have an idea. Thanks, Felicity.” And Oliver hung up with her, not letting her finish anything she was about to say.

 

He stood up to go talk to Waller, when he remembered that Anna hadn’t eaten in just as long as him, if not longer. He grabbed the first sandwich he saw for her and went to find Dig. Dig pointed him to the room where Anna was being held. He found the nondescript door with an agent out in front of it, guarding it.

 

“Hey, I’m just here to bring her some food.” The guard looked at the tray disinterestedly, and unlocked the door for him. Clearly Anna wasn’t a high-security prisoner. He wasn’t sure what to do, but decided to stick with the formal option and knocked.

 

“Come in.” He entered.

 

“Figured you might be getting hungry.” 

 

“Thank you. And welcome to my unlawful detention.” Oliver chuckled. At least she was in bright spirits about the whole mess.

 

“It could be worse.”

 

“Yeah, at least it’s not Hong Kong.”  _ Hong Kong? How could she know about that?  _ The only person Oliver ever told, and really ever planned on telling, was Felicity. 

 

“You know about Hong Kong?” A guilty expression came to her face.

 

“Yeah, you mentioned it once, that you worked for Waller in Hong Kong. It’s why you speak Chinese.” 

 

“Right. Anyway, you shouldn’t let Waller intimidate you.”

 

“Waller doesn’t scare me.” Anna sounded pretty cocky on that point. He was beginning to wonder if anything shook her.

 

“You sound like you’ve had encounters with her before.”

 

“I really can’t say. Future knowledge and all.”

 

“Is this your first time travelling through time? Man, that feels so weird to say.” 

 

“No, I’ve Travelled before. But this is my first time Travelling to 2015. It’s a nice year you’ve got here.” Did that mean she wasn’t from 2015? Or it was her first time staying in the same year she was travelling to?  _ She can’t be from too far in the future. She’s from a future where you’re alive. _

 

“Thanks, I guess. I guess I should let you get back to your search.” He couldn’t really come up with anything more to say.

 

“You know, she can keep me here as long as she wants, but there’s no way to find this speedster if he’s not speeding.”

 

“I know that, and you know that, so eventually she’ll figure it out. I’ll keep talking to them. In the meantime, just do what you can. Don’t give her any reason to believe you’re not working hard enough.”

 

“Got it. I can tinker with the program a bit, see if there are lower-level signatures I can identify.” Like he had any idea what that Felicity-speak meant.

 

“Sure. What you said.” Oliver left, and the ARGUS agent at the door locked and bolted the door behind him. 

 

Oliver went back to the central control room and found Amanda Waller. “I want you to let the girl go.”

 

“That girl has information vital to the national interest and protection of this city.”

 

“You mean you think she can find the speedster? Trust me, she’s motivated to do that whether she’s here or not. And we can help her.”

 

“I know the speedster has her brother, but we can’t trust that girl to face him on her own.”

 

“Then trust me.”

 

“And why should I do that?”

 

“Because I’m willing to make it in the national interest.”

 

“How so?”

 

“I’ll go on a mission for you. Whenever I’m called. I just want my teammate back.”

 

“An interesting proposition. But that still leaves the problem of the speedster.”

 

“Leave that to me. I promise you I’ll find and eliminate the threat. If anyone gets hurt before I’m able to take the speedster down, then I’ll become your agent. I’ll come work for you and we’ll take the speedster down.”

 

“I like this. It’s interesting. Fine, I’ll let the girl go. Take down the speedster on your own...or don’t. I like my odds either way.” Oliver didn’t like the smile on her face as he walked away, but he knew he had made the right decision. Anna would work better back with the team, in familiar circumstances. He went to wait for her in the lobby, and felt a smile come to his face when she came out to meet him. 

 

She ignored his happy mood, and instead seemed irate. “Did you talk Waller into letting me go?”  _ She’s mad at me for helping her? _

 

“We had... a discussion. She saw that this was in her best interest.”

 

“Please tell me you didn’t exchange something in return for my release.”

 

“Well…”

 

“What did you give her?”

 

“A blank check. She gets to call me in for any mission if she drops the speedster thing completely.” Not completely true, but Anna needed to feel ARGUS was off her back.

 

“What? No, that’s unacceptable! Let me go back there and-” She turned on her heel and actually walked back toward ARGUS! There really was no stopping this one. Oliver grabbed her shoulder and tried explaining his reasoning to her.

 

“Easy there. I probably saved a lot of agents’ lives by avoiding this speedster thing. And besides, she ends up drawing me into her missions because of Dig and Lyla anyway. So it was an easy trade to make.” Easy, yes. Right, maybe. But did he have choice? Of course not. She was part of his team, which meant she was part of his life.


	10. Chapter 10

“Where were you? You weren’t picking up your cell!” This was what he got for hanging up on Felicity Smoak. 

 

“I was sorting some things out at ARGUS. It’s all good now.”

 

“What? Did they want you to team up with Task Force X again?” Oliver tried not giving anything away, but Felicity knew him too well. “You’re kidding me. Amanda Waller is psycho, I don’t understand why you keep working with her!”

 

“Because sometimes she gets it right. And sometimes the world doesn’t really have a choice.” 

 

“Can you guys fight later?” They weren’t exactly fighting, just exchanging ideas, but he could see what Anna was trying to say. “I’m on a bit of a clock here. ARGUS is no longer after Momentum, so that means I have free reign to go after him.”

 

“Oliver, can I talk to you for a second?” Felicity stood up and grabbed Oliver’s arm. “In private?” Oliver followed Felicity to the back of the bunker.

 

“Why are you teaming up with Amanda Waller again?”

 

“I’m not really teaming up with her. And besides, they were basically holding Anna captive.” Felicity glanced back at Anna, who was looking at something on the computer.

 

“That may very well be, but what do we know about this girl, really?”

 

“Are you saying we can’t trust her? She’s a member of our team!”

 

“In the future. And we have no idea who she was before that. Look, I’m not saying throw her out, but I’m also not saying that we should give up so much on her behalf.”

 

Oliver sighed. “You’re right. I may have gotten in a little deep with Waller. I’m sorry.”

 

“Good. Now let’s see what she’s up to.” Felicity strode back to her computers, with Oliver following. 

 

Oliver let Felicity get into the details of whatever was going on on the computer with Anna, and started changing into his gear for the night. As he was, he got a call from Laurel. 

 

“What’s up, Laurel?”

 

“I’m sorry, Ollie, but I’m held up at work. I won’t be able to catch that movie tonight.” Movie? Oh, Laurel was with her co-workers. She couldn’t say what they were actually up to. 

 

“That’s alright. It’s probably not going to be that exciting.” Dig and Roy walked in. 

 

“Actually, I have some movie reviews that you might want to see. I’ll text you.” With that, she hung up. Oliver’s phone vibrated with an incoming text, and he took a look at it. The location of an illegal fighting ring. Now that was of interest. 

 

Oliver walked up to Felicity and Anna, who seemed to be fighting about something. He turned to address the team.

 

“Laurel said she wouldn’t be able to join us tonight. She’s working late at the DA’s office. But she did give us some intel on an illegal fight ring that we could break up if we want.” 

 

Dig seemed concerned. “Okay, but with Laurel gone, we could really use a fourth.” He glanced at Anna.

 

“Me? You want me to go out on patrol with you?”

 

Roy seemed to like the idea. “Well, what else are you going to do? Sharpen your arrows?” 

 

“I can’t just go out there in my gear and potentially alter the timeline.” 

 

Maybe she couldn’t do that. The police probably didn’t want to see any more of the blue-hooded vigilante. But there was a vigilante that the SCPD, one member in particular, wouldn’t have a problem seeing on the streets. 

 

“Not in your gear. What if you went out as the Black Canary?”

 

Anna seemed stunned. “You want me to go out dressed as Laurel Lance?”

 

“The idea being with her gear that no one would know who you were.”

 

“I don’t think it would fit.” Now she was just looking for excuses.

 

“Try it on.” She looked skeptical. “Come on, this morning you proved you could handle a bo staff, and you’ll look the part. Besides, we need someone to infiltrate the club, and the Black Canary is the perfect one to do it. She’s relatively unknown and will blend right in.” The more he explained the idea, the more he liked it. This was going to work. 

 

As Anna was putting on Laurel’s gear, Dig pulled Oliver aside. “You want to send that girl alone into a fight club?”

 

“She’s held her own so far. Besides, she doesn’t need to fight, she just needs to observe.”

 

“I hope you know what you’re doing, man.”

 

Soon they were all loaded up in the van and on the way to the address Laurel had given. Anna seemed jumpy.

 

“You good?” 

 

“Fine. I think I got this.”

 

“Don’t worry. You look the part.” That she did. He would’ve thought she was Laurel if he was squinting. He gave her a comm. 

 

Dig laughed humorlessly. “You’re not going to take that out this time, are you?”

 

“No, I’m good.” 

 

They got to the warehouse, and Anna went outside. All she had to do was report in. Oliver listened to his comm. 

 

“I found the place. There are already two guys in the cage, fighting. I’ll look around for some leadership.” He waited some more. “Guys, there are two cops here. Should I proceed?” 

 

Oliver knew Laurel had been thorough in her intel-gathering. “No. Laurel said the SCPD weren’t getting involved in the operation yet, so hang back and see what they’re up to.” 

 

“The cops are dirty. I’ve identified one of the players.”

 

“Good. Remember, we’re looking for four.” 

 

“Copy. Eyes on two and three.”

 

There was silence for a few minutes, and Oliver waited as Anna continued to scope out the glance for the fourth leader.

 

“Guys, I’m going in the ring.”  _ What? No. That’s not the plan. _

 

“You’re what?” 

 

“Look, you guys can come in on my signal to take out the players. But if I don’t do this now, it’ll all be for nothing.” What was she talking about?

 

“Black Canary, no.” He was met by silence. “She turned off her comm.”

 

Roy looked helpless. “What do we do?” 

 

What indeed? Wait for her signal, or go in and extract her now? She’d been pretty clear on what she wanted. “We’ll go wait outside. If she doesn’t give us the signal in two minutes, we go in.”

 

The team went to wait just outside the warehouse. Oliver could hear the crowd cheering, but not much else. Suddenly, a chant began. “Crush Her! Crush Her! Crush Her!”

 

It had been a minute and a half. It didn’t sound like things were going so well for Anna. He was about to signal the team to extract her, when-

 

“Guys, you can come in now.” 

 

The team didn’t hesitate. Roy and Dig went after security, and Oliver went after the bet-taker. He quickly isolated him, knocked him unconscious and took him outside. He saw that Roy and Dig were still working on their men. That just left the MC. He was front and center by the cage. If Oliver went after him, the whole thing was over. Anna needed to buy them more time.

 

Oliver watched Anna fighting. He had no idea how she had stayed in the cage this long with a guy this massive. She was hanging from his neck, kicking his back fiercely. She was trying to choke him! But he started backing her into the cage. Anna threw her head back each time he did. That had to hurt. He couldn’t imagine that she’d last much longer against such a large man. He thought back to his conversation with Felicity-he wasn’t there to bail her out. If she was a part of the team, then she needed to pull her own weight. 

 

Oliver saw that Dig and Roy were ready to go. Just then, Anna’s large opponent fell to the ground. The MC was about to enter the cage and crown her the champion, when Oliver knocked him over the back of the head. He fell face down into the cage. Then Anna passed out.

 

That’s when panic overtook all of the onlookers. Oliver shouted at them, “Everyone out of here, now!” And they ran. Oliver grabbed Anna and threw her over his shoulder. Time to make his escape. He had Felicity call Lance on his way to the van, and took Anna back to the bunker. 


	11. Chapter 11

The team returned to the bunker. Felicity stood up and ran toward them.

 

“Oh my gosh, what happened?”

 

“Anna took a blow to the head.”

 

“Doing what? Taking out thugs?”

 

“Not exactly.” Oliver laid her down on the med table. “She got in the cage match.”

 

“Why?”

 

“To buy us time, I’d guess.” Dig and Roy started changing out of their gear. Oliver started patching Anna up. He saw she had a pretty nasty head wound. “She might have a concussion. Make sure we keep her head still.”

 

Felicity helped him wrap a bandage around her bleeding head. “The guy must’ve beat her up pretty badly.”

 

“You should see the other guy. And he was twice her size.” Oliver sighed.

 

“You’re a mess. Go, grab a shower. I’ll be here when she wakes up.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Oliver headed to the shower, relieved to be able to wash off the dirt and blood. He thought back to what Felicity had said. Why would Anna have fought for them like that? She must really consider herself to be part of the team. Oliver liked that. As much as he disliked it when someone gave up their life to be like him, he didn’t mind having Anna on the team. She was clearly dedicated, and she had potential. Scratch that, she was a vigilante of her own right. He finished his shower, wrapped himself in a towel, and walked out into the main area. He heard Anna’s voice. 

 

“Besides, I knew I could take that pansy.”

 

And then some. “Darn right you could. That was some of the...some of the best fighting I’ve seen in awhile. I must’ve taught you well. Shower’s all yours, by the way.” 

 

Anna scampered off to take a shower, leaving Oliver with Felicity. “So, do you still feel like I invested in her too much?”

 

“No. You were right. She’s a member of this team, and we ought to treat her like one. That includes helping her find her brother.”

 

“Any luck on that front?”

 

“No. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but with Anna’s moratorium on getting help from STAR Labs, there’s only so much I can do.”

 

“Keep trying. We need to get him off of the map, and we need to get Anna her brother back.”

 

“Oh! I brought Anna some fresh clothes. I should go give those to her so she has them when she gets out of the shower.” Oliver was glad that Felicity had finally come around on Anna. It was good to have the team united. Felicity came back into sight.

 

“I’m heading home for the night, unless you need something else?”

 

“No, I have everything I need. Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

Oliver started putting away the medical supplies that he had used, saving some gauze for when Anna emerged from the shower. A few minutes later, Anna joined him, wearing sweatpants and a panda shirt. Oliver had to keep from laughing. He recognized the shirt from Felicity’s early days with the team. It was still one of his favorites.

 

“You can have the bed tonight,” Anna offered. Like he was going to let someone with a concussion sleep on the floor of a nightclub basement.

 

“No way. You sustained a head injury. You will be taking the bed every night until you’re all healed up. Come here.” Anna jumped up onto the med table, and Oliver started wrapping her head with the gauze. He was careful near her sore spot, knowing full well what a head injury felt like. He was surprised she wasn’t affected by the harsh lights of the bunker. Anna winced.

 

“Too tight?” 

 

“No, it’s just right. Thank you.” Of course she wouldn’t complain. Apparently that was something she was incapable of doing.

 

“No problem. Good night.”

 

“Good night.” Anna headed back to her mattress, and Oliver finished putting away the gauze. Once he was satisfied that everything was back in his place, he returned to his spot on the practice mats and fell into a practiced, dreamless sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Oliver woke up, this time remembering where he was. He went to the bathroom, splashed some water on his face, and started his morning workout. While he was working on the training dummy, Anna walked in, still clad in her panda outfit. Something was missing...her head wrap. She needed to keep that on for at least 24 hours, if not more. 

 

“Where’d your head wrap go?” Anna just frowned at him, like he was being frivolous.

 

“I don’t need it, it’s fine. Can we train?” Spar? When she could have a concussion?  _ Don’t baby her. She knows what she can handle. _

 

“If you want.”

 

“Good.” She handed him two escrima sticks and then began sparring. Her form wasn’t sloppy, but she was leaving her head open a great deal. Oliver avoided taking any shots to her head for obvious reasons. That worked to his disadvantage, as she was not afraid to take a shot to his head. She stopped the stick right before it actually made contact. Oliver held up his sticks in surrender. 

 

“Don’t go easy on me.” He wasn’t necessarily going easy on her, just avoiding head shots. 

 

“But your head-”

 

“Momentum won’t care that I had a head injury. And if I lose, my brother won’t care that I had a head injury. Again.” The fight continued and Anna was relentless. He wasn’t even sure she heard Dig come down the stairs and start talking to them. 

 

“Are you two going to keep fighting like that all day?” 

 

Anna finally stopped, but it didn’t seem like it was Dig that snapped her out of her trance.

 

“Was this all too much for your head?”

 

“No, it’s not that. I’ve just had a breakthrough on finding Momentum. It’s an older idea,but I’m willing to bet it will work in this case. Can you drive me to Palmer Tech?” Palmer Tech? What did she want there?

 

Dig seemed to have some idea. “You want to go back there? To see Felicity?” 

 

“I want to see her, and Dr. Palmer. I think they have the tech there that I need to put my plan into action.” 

 

“Palmer?” He had no desire to see the man, and even less of a desire to see him with Felicity. “Count me out. I’d rather stay here and train. You can just take the Ducati over there.” 

 

Anna left then, clearly set on her mission. Oliver gestured toward her dropped escrima sticks and stared at Dig. Dig picked them up and they began sparring. Oliver had the advantage, as he was already warmed up, but Dig wasn’t doing so badly, either. Finally, Dig got the upper hand.

 

“Where’s your head at, man?”

 

“Nowhere. I mean, it’s here.”

 

“You’re clearly somewhere else.” Oliver tried not to look guilty. “You’re thinking about Felicity and Ray, aren’t you?” 

 

Oliver didn’t respond.

 

“Look, I get that the two of them together is doing things to your head, but-”

 

“There’s no buts, Dig. Felicity chose Ray. And Ray’s good for her. He gets her in a way that I just never will. She’s happy. Who am I to try to compete with that?”

 

“Who are you if you don’t?” 

 

“I’m going for a run. Clear my head.”

 

“I’ll come too.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be with Lyla right now?”

 

“Lyla and I aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye. I need to clear my head, too.”

 

\-----------------------------------------------------

 

When they got back to the bunker, Anna wasn’t there. Oliver didn’t know why she had been holed up at Palmer Tech for so long. He started going through recent police reports for anything suspicious, see if he could find any reason to believe that Ra’s was acting in his city. After a few hours, he was getting worried about Anna. He called Felicity. She said Anna had left hours ago as well. Something wasn’t right. 

 

Finally, Anna came back. Oliver went to confront her. “Where have you been? Why are you wearing your gear?” She certainly wasn’t when she went out to Palmer Tech. 

 

“I went to go fight Momentum.” She went out on her own to fight the speedster? If it didn’t work the first time, why would it work this time?   
  


Dig brought up another point. “Wait, I thought you told ARGUS you couldn’t track him?”

 

“Yeah, but then I figured it out. The mission failed, again.” Of course it did! She was being reckless.

 

“Well maybe that’s because you went out on your own! And with your injury at that!” 

 

“My injury isn’t stopping me from stopping him!” No, her incompetence was!

 

“Did you even have a plan?”

 

“I knew what I was doing. The next time I go up against him, I’ll-”

 

“There won’t be a next time for you. We’ll take care of it from here. You’re lacking in good judgment and I never should’ve let you out of my sight in the first place!” Oliver had promised Waller that he’d see this thing through. Clearly, this girl was a liability in that plan. 

 

Anna then did something unexpected. She grabbed a tennis ball and gave it to Dig. He threw it in the air. Anna nailed a perfect shot. But that wasn’t the point. The point was she was operating independently, instead of as part of the team. And she wasn’t including Oliver in her plans. 

 

“I. Don’t. Need. You.” That stung. Oliver didn’t know why, but he felt a kick in his gut from those words. Of course she needed him-that’s why he would’ve trained her in the first place. Wasn’t it?

 

Oliver didn’t get a chance to reply, as Anna snuck off. 

 

Just a few seconds later, Felicity came down the stairs. “Is Anna back yet?”

 

“Umm, yeah, she is,” Oliver said dejectedly. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Dig stepped up. “Anna gave Oliver a solid tongue lashing.”

 

“What? Why?” Felicity approached Oliver and put her hand on his shoulder.

 

“Because I got mad at her for not acting as a part of this team, and she said she didn’t need us. That she didn’t need me.”

 

“Well, clearly she does. You’ve been helping her out since the beginning.”

 

“I know that. Look, let’s just forget about it, okay?” Oliver didn’t want to think about the biting retort any longer. “I was looking at some recent police reports, trying to find any evidence of the League. Could you maybe help out with that?”

 

“Sure.”

 

And before he knew it, he had lost himself in muggings and robberies and had forgotten about Anna’s words. Or at least that’s what he told himself.


	13. Chapter 13

After a while, it became clear to Oliver and Felicity that there was nothing more than random violence in the city. Oliver felt guilty about it, until he reminded himself that he was going on a patrol tonight. That would do a little bit to prevent it. 

 

Suddenly, he heard someone clearing their throat. He turned to see Anna, looking contrite.

 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone out half-cocked or without at least letting you guys know.” Oliver wasn’t sure how to respond. He looked at Felicity and she nodded.

 

“Alright. Apology accepted.” Now back to working on the routes for tonight’s patrol. 

 

“Actually, I need your help.” An actual request for help?  _ She does it much better than I do _ .

 

“With fighting the speedster?”

 

“Not exactly. I...well, I made a deal with the speedster.” She had done what? She had not only made a deal with her enemy, but she had forgone telling them about it. She was keeping secrets, and now she wanted his help?

 

“You what?” 

 

“It was the only way to make sure he wouldn’t hurt my brother. I had to promise him something in return for keeping my brother safe. So I did.”

 

“And what exactly did you promise?”

 

“I told him that I could get him something within a week. So I’ve been doing the best I can to figure out how to get him this object.” Object? Did she want something of his?

 

Felicity jumped in. “What do you mean, you’ve been doing the best you can? Exactly how long ago did you make this deal?”

 

“The first time I fought Momentum, I made the deal.” She had been keeping this secret while he was working to get her out of trouble in ARGUS? She had all of this going on and still went out to fight the speedster?

 

“So you’re saying that you made a deal with an evil speedster and didn’t tell us? You’ve been going around this whole time behind our backs?!?”

 

“It’s not like that. He doesn’t want anything of yours, really. I just wasn’t asking for your help.” Not coming to the team with something like that...it amounted to a betrayal in Oliver’s book. Especially since he had welcomed her onto the team, and made her part of his...group.  _ But she is _ , Oliver reminded himself,  _ whether you like it or not, she’s a trusted member. _

 

“So why are you asking for it now?” Felicity asked.

 

“Because during our last fight, he moved the time table. I now only have two days to get him this object. And I’m running out of ideas on how to get it.” Looked like it was time for him to figure out how to help her.

 

“Sit down and tell us everything you know.”

 

“Next year, an engineer is going to invent...a piece of technology.” Next year? That meant that this girl was from further in the future than just next year. How was that possible? How was there a future that far off that he was in? “The speedster wants it now. That means I have to piece it together myself. I figure that the components of the technology must already exist if it’s this close in the timeline to being invented. The object has a casing, which exists at Palmer Tech. It also has a power source that I can get from the inventor himself. Then there’s the chemical part. I don’t have any idea where that came from, or the software.”

 

Oliver asked the first question on his mind. “So what you’re saying is that you’re from over a year in the future?”

 

“When did you think I was from?”

 

“I don’t know, maybe in a couple of months?” A year tops. He wanted this business with Ra’s to end sooner rather than later.

 

“When I’m from doesn’t matter. Where I can get these last two components is what’s important.” She addressed Felicity. “Do you have any idea of any experiments with cellular regeneration?”

 

“Cellular regeneration? Like what you were looking into at STAR Labs?” Anna looked confused, so Felicity pulled something up on the computer.“I put a little bit more thought into why Cisco would be looking into curing cancer. Between when the particle accelerator exploded and the rise of metahumans, STAR Labs was all about humanitarian projects. They took in a coma patient, they worked on improving suits for firefighters and…They put a lot of money into curing cancer, which a lot of people were afraid the dark matter wave would have caused.” 

 

Felicity pulled up a newspaper article on the screen. Something about STAR Labs. “The press coverage of STAR Labs after the particle accelerator explosion was nasty. The entire country was upset, but Central City especially. It hasn’t gotten better now that metas are on the loose.” 

 

Oliver wasn’t following, and it didn’t look like Anna was either. “So what does this have to do with cellular regeneration?”

 

“That was the thrust of the project: curing cancer in a way that no one had considered before, through-”

 

Anna seemed to have figured it out. “Reverse telomere telemetry. Keep cells from flipping the kill switch.” 

 

Oliver tried to sum up what he had gotten out of this. “So you’re saying that the chemical they were using to cure cancer is part of the machine that your evil speedster needs us to build?”

 

“Precisely. We need to get that chemical. Then we go to Palmer Tech and get the casing, then convince the inventor to modify his power source and give it to us then combine it all with some sort of code.” 

 

Felicity seemed excited by the prospect. “I can code it!” Anna hesitated. “What? These fingers can code anything!”

 

“Sorry. Not letting you code future tech. I’ll do it myself.” 

 

There wasn’t much Oliver could do, but he knew a way to get the chemical from STAR Labs, using Barry as a connection. “I can’t help with most of that, but I can call someone I know at STAR Labs to deliver the chemical to us...quickly.” 

 

Felicity had other plans. “Actually, that won’t be necessary. There’s an auxiliary warehouse here in Starling that has a sample of the chemical. They shelved the project after they started helping fight metas. Should be more than enough. I’ll call Cisco and-”

 

“No. We’ll break in.” Anna certainly had flair. “Just show me where in the facility it is, and I’ll- we’ll go nab it.”

 

It didn’t seem like the best idea, but he was glad that Anna was including him on things now, so Oliver decided to go along with it.


	14. Chapter 14

Oliver and Anna suited up, with Oliver reassuring her that since no one would see her, she could wear her own suit. They snuck into the warehouse no problem. Oliver knew Felicity had the details of the warehouse pulled up.    
  


“Felicity, where’s the chemical?” 

 

“According to the most updated specs, it should be eleven shelves to your left, down a bit, and on the top shelf.” Anna seemed to have an idea of where that was, and he followed her.

 

“How far down the aisle is it?”

 

“It’s in the area labelled ‘G’, which could be for ‘government’ or ‘generosity’ or ‘goodwill’, though it’s probably just an indiscriminate letter.” Not helping, but Oliver would never shut out Felicity’s babbling.

 

“We found it. Now we just need to get to the top shelf.” Oliver started climbing, but Anna tugged him back down.

 

“I’m a lot lighter than you. I’ll do the climbing.” Anna made the wide shelves look close together with the ease she was climbing them. He heard her voice over the comms as she got near the top.

 

“What exactly am I looking for?”

 

“It should be a small box, labelled G13X-1,” Felicity responded. Before he knew it, Anna was climbing back down.

 

“I got it.” Good. The back of his neck was starting to tingle, and that was never a good sign. 

 

Suddenly he heard a voice.“Hey, who’s over there? Hey, Bob, over here!” Two security guards, and they were summoning a third, who stood on the other side of the aisle. They were trapped in what was supposed to be a covert mission. Oliver glanced at Anna, who nodded at him. They went after the two guards nearest them. Anna dispatched hers quicker than Oliver did his. Suddenly he was turning around and-

 

A gun went off. Anna had jumped in front of him. She had taken his bullet. Oliver saw red. He nocked a taser arrow and launched it at the guard. Once the threat was eliminated, he went to check on Anna. He started panicking, but then his survival instincts kicked in.

 

“Come on, we gotta get you out of here.” 

 

“Retrieve arrow. Evidence.” He went to grab the arrow, relieved that she was even speaking. “Erase footage.”

 

“Already taken care of,” Felicity responded.

 

“We gotta get you to a hospital.” There was no way he’d be able to take care of her back in the bunker, not in the panicked state he was in.

 

“No. I’m fine. Just get me back to the bunker. Stitches are all I need.” No, he needed a doctor to look at her. What if- “When were you last at a hospital?” 

 

That was true. Vigilantes didn’t go to hospitals. He quickly picked her up, glad to have her in his arms. He carried her back to the van and got her situated, careful not to jostle her wound. The ride back to the bunker felt like an eternity. It was like Oliver couldn’t get the van to move fast enough. Finally they were there, and he was able to carry her down and sit her on the med table. He got her jacket off, and pressed a cloth to the wound. There was too much blood. Far too much blood. 

 

“Oh my God. Were you shot?” Felicity wasn’t helping right now. 

 

“Doesn’t matter. I got what we came for.” So? Anna had been shot!

 

Felicity seemed to have the same attitude. “Yes, but you got shot! In the chest!”

 

Oliver had to be honest with Felicity, and himself. “She took the bullet for me.”

 

Anna took her undershirt off, and Oliver immediately turned around. He wanted to give the girl her privacy, but he also had no desire to see the wound. 

 

“Someone who knows how is going to have to suture me up, and it can’t be me.” 

 

He knew that Felicity didn’t know how to suture yet. Something he would have to teach her in the near future. Felicity backed off of his gaze. “Don’t look at me. I don’t do blood.” 

 

Anna kicked Oliver’s back. He really didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t think he could bear to see Anna hurt.  _ Why not? You’ve seen Laurel and Felicity hurt. And you love them both more than this...more than Anna. _

 

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m decent enough. It’s just a sparring outfit.” Oliver finally turned around and when he did, he gasped. “What?”

 

Her body was covered in scar tissue. It was almost as bad as his. But he had spent five years in hell. What was her explanation? “You’re too young to have that many scars.” 

 

“Yeah, well, it’s part of the business. Let’s just worry about this one, alright?” He grabbed the suture kit and offered her some pain meds. She pushed his hand away. He couldn’t blame her. If she had suffered that much, pain like this would be bearable.

 

Felicity got curious. “How did you get all of those scars?” 

 

“Life happens. I’ve been shot before, but I really can’t get too much into it. Too much knowledge about the-”

 

“Future. Yeah, I get it. Good to know there’s still a lot of people beating up vigilantes in the future.” 

 

“The future isn’t all bad. It isn’t all good. It just...is.”  _ Her philosophy isn’t that much different from mine. _

 

“You know, you could be a Traveller who makes a difference. Changes the past to make the future better.” Felicity, however, seemed to be more deep into the philosophy.

 

“It’s not that simple. And I’m not going to be the Traveller who messes with time.” 

 

Oliver finished his last stitch. “All done. You need to go get some rest.”

 

Anna opened her mouth to disagree, but then winced from the small action. “Fine. But first thing in the morning, we’re getting to work.”

 

The morning? How about next week? But he knew the speedster was out there and they had a timeline they needed to worry about. “Fine.”

 

Anna went off to her mattress, and Felicity turned to Oliver, mouth agape. “Holy moly, she has as many scars as you.”

 

“Do you get the feeling there’s something she’s not telling us?”

 

“All the time. She’s admitted that there are things she’s not telling us, that she can’t tell us.” Felicity put her hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “But she took a bullet for you. I trust her with my life if I trust her with yours.” 

 

Oliver smiled. “It’s not that I don’t trust her, it’s just I think there might be something...more to her.”

 

“If you say so. I gotta head out. Goodnight.”

 

“Yeah. Goodnight.”

 

Oliver got back to his sleeping mat and decided to get some rest of his own.


	15. Chapter 15

He wasn’t sleeping. All he could see was Anna getting shot and the blood seeping out of her wound. He swore he must’ve been hit the same place that Anna had been shot, because he was having pains there. Suddenly, he heard her.

 

“Dad, Dad!” Anna was calling out in her sleep. He jumped up and went to go wake her. No need for her to be wrestling with a nightmare. He found her with her blankets kicked off, shaking and curled up in a little ball. His heart broke seeing her like this. He needed to get through to her. He shook her. No response. He shook her more roughly this time.

 

“Anna, you have to wake up.” Anna woke with a start, immediately alert. 

 

“Sorry.” What was she sorry for? Thinking she woke him up or having him see her like this? He decided not to address it.

 

“You were calling for your dad.” 

 

“I was?”

 

“Yeah, over and over.”

 

“Sometimes I dream that people I love get hurt because of who I am...because of what I am. This time it was my dad.” He knew that feeling far too well. He had had too many dreams of Tommy and his parents, and even Laurel and Thea.

 

“And in real life it’s your brother. Anything you do to help get yourself back to sleep?” He knew getting a glass of water and some medication exercises were helpful for him. 

 

“I don’t.” It didn’t seem like Anna wanted him to leave, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He sat with her in silence. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

 

“It’s okay. I’m a light sleeper. I’m just...I’m glad you woke up.” He was upset she was having nightmares in the first place. She shouldn’t be cursed to have them just because she followed his crusade. The physical scars were one thing, but the mental scars...that was something else.

 

He went back to bed, or mat as the case may be, but couldn’t fall back asleep. Now he had all the images of the day haunting him. Since he was going to get any sleep, and it was technically morning, he threw on a hoodie and decided to go for a run. 

 

The streets were quiet at this time of day, no matter where in the city he went. The late-night partiers had finally gone to bed and the early-morning risers hadn’t quite gotten up yet. This was when the city reminded him most of the island. Large, but strangely calm. 

 

As his feet hit the pavement, he thought about Palmer. About how he needed to accept Felicity’s choices. Because if he couldn’t, he wouldn’t be able to put the city first. And he thought about waking up Anna and how devastated she had looked when she woke up. He wondered if that’s how he looked when people had to wake him up from his nightmares. It was probably better that he lived alone now. 

 

But he didn’t live alone, not really. The past few days he’d almost enjoyed living with Anna. Sparring with her in the mornings and having her around for missions in the evenings. She was an extremely talented girl, plus it made him feel better that she was around.  _ Because she’s part of the team, or because of something else? _

 

When Anna had been shot, Oliver felt sheer panic like he’d never felt before. All he had wanted to do was lay down and make sure Anna was okay. He almost fell to mush. If it weren’t for eight years of highly honed survival instincts, that guard could’ve killed them both. What was it about her that made him do that? And she had the arrow necklace. He wouldn’t have given that to just any protege. 

 

Maybe she was Dig’s daughter. She could be from far enough in the future for that to be possible. But she looked nothing like Dig or Lyla. Her hair was extremely blonde and she had blue eyes. If anything she looked like... _ no. No no no no no no no _ . She looked like him.


	16. Chapter 16

With his newfound revelation that he couldn’t even put into words, Oliver ran home. As he was trotting down the stairs, he heard Felicity and Anna discussing fruit of all things. That’s when he realized how hungry he was. 

 

“Oh, great, you brought breakfast!” Oliver walked up to Felicity to thank her properly, happy to see her. He did his best not to look at Anna.

 

“Yes, and Anna passed on the shredded wheat, so I guess the disgusting little squares are yours now.” 

 

“Thanks for putting them out for me.”

 

“That was Anna.” Out of instinct, Oliver looked at Anna. And what he saw there confirmed everything he had been thinking. She even knew which cereal to put out for him. It was more than a lucky guess. How many breakfasts had they shared together? The thought warmed him up inside.

 

“Where were you this morning?” Felicity asked.

 

“Went on a run, to clear my head.” He looked through the grocery bag that Felicity had brought. “No spoons?”

 

That dampened Felicity’s bright mood. “Frack, I must’ve forgotten. Sorry.”

 

He didn’t want her frowning. Not right now. “No big deal, I’ll eat it dry. Anyway, what’s our next step in the plan?”

 

He looked at Anna, and saw that she was just drinking her cereal out of the container. That wasn’t very polite of her. She stopped after he looked at her. “The next component we need is the hardware from Palmer Tech. I was thinking that maybe if we asked nicely, Dr. Palmer would give it to us?” 

 

Felicity agreed. “Yeah, probably. Just show me what we need and I’ll talk to Ray about borrowing it for a project or something. He won’t mind.” Why would she go see Palmer on her day off? He needed her here, to help him track down their next big mission.

 

“Wait, you’re going to see Palmer today? It’s Saturday. You’re not going to work.”

 

“No, but Ray and I were going to be together….socially. Just together. Just great. Just fine and dandy.” Oh, great, now she was using time he thought she was spending with him to go see Palmer?

 

Anna interrupted his train of thought. “If you’re going to see Dr. Palmer, that’s all the better. I’ll go check in on the inventor and get the power source.” 

 

Anything to get away from Palmer. “Great. I’ll go with you.” 

 

“No, you stay here and analyze the serum. We might have to modify it for our needs.” She wanted him to do what now?

 

“I don’t know...how to do that.” Anna seemed surprised. Was this something he would be expected to do in the future? For all their sakes, he hoped not.

 

“Alright. Well, I’ll show you,” Anna pointed at Felicity, “what we need from Palmer Tech while I get started on the chemical analysis here.”

 

Anna showed Felicity what was needed and Felicity left. Now he was alone with her. His...well, he knew what she was. Anna turned to Oliver.

 

“Do you know where you keep your spectrometer?” 

 

Oliver put his hands up in defeat. “I don’t know what that is.”

 

“Right.” She dug around through his things, unintentionally making a mess. She pulled out a large machine and plopped it on the table, handing him the cord for it while she went about finding something else Oliver had probably never used in a chemistry class he probably never passed.

 

“Okay, so basically, this thing can analyze the chemical a bunch of different ways, using these buttons.” She pointed to a few buttons. “Don’t worry too much about what they do. I’m going to show you how to load the chemical and run a function. Then you’ll save the output, discard of the old sample and load a new one. Make sense?”

 

Oliver nodded. This wasn’t too difficult, as long as he didn’t think too much about it. “Now just do that a bunch more times with each function. Don’t worry about running out; we’ll only need a little bit of the original remaining. Just don’t spill. That would be bad.”

 

“Got it. Load, press the button, wait, save, unload. Don’t spill.”

 

“Good. Now I’ve got a couple more things I need to do.” She needed to track down that inventor, for starters. “Hey, do you think you could pretend to be my high school newspaper editor?”

 

“What?”

 

“Just on the phone for a second. I need you to call this guy and tell him that I accidentally lost the recording of our interview and that I need to go back and interview him again. And that you’re really sorry to be wasting his time on a Saturday, but we’re on a deadline?”

 

“Sure?”

 

She called someone up and then handed the phone to Oliver.

 

“Just introduce yourself.”

 

“Hello, this is...Dan…” He looked up at his suit hanging on its mannequin. “...Green. A student in my newspaper class lost the recording of your interview and she needs to go back and interview you again.”

 

“Oh, the blonde high school girl? I knew she didn’t have a photographic memory.” The voice was masculine, but he couldn’t tell too much else about the inventor.

 

“Yes, her. I’m really sorry to be wasting your time on a Saturday, but we’re on a deadline here, so…”

 

“Yeah, she can come in. Tell her I’ll put her down on the visitor’s list. When should I expect her?”

 

“In half an hour.” Oliver guessed the time Anna would need to get anywhere in the city.

 

“Great. Thanks for the call.” 

 

Anna made a bit of noise gathering up some other things, and Oliver started on the chemical analysis. Once she had what she needed, she left. Oliver was once again alone with his thoughts, foremost of which was how it was lonely to be a vigilante.


	17. Chapter 17

Running the analysis wasn’t actually too hard. Each time he performed a new function, he had to wait a few minutes. He took that time to clean up everything that Anna had left lying around in her quest to find the spectrometer. On the last function, he made it to the weapons cabinet. He didn’t know why she had gone through it in the first place. As he sorted through it, he realized his gun wasn’t in the right drawer.  _ Where was it? _

 

Oliver searched around through various drawers, and he still couldn’t find it. As he was looking, Anna came down into the bunker. “How’s the spectroanalysis coming?”

 

“It’s fine.” Anna couldn’t, could she have? He turned and pointed a finger at her, disappointed to have come to this conclusion. “You took my gun.”

 

A guilty expression crossed her face. “I might have...borrowed it.” 

 

Oliver wanted it back, now. He held out his hand and she gave it to him. He opened the chamber and immediately noticed that it was still fully loaded. What was she doing with it, then?

 

“You didn’t fire it. Why did you take it?”

 

Oliver got no response. He thought about what he would do with a gun if he were going to meet a scientist that he needed something from. The answer came to him, and he didn’t like it. “Did you think you were going to threaten the guy? A civilian? Force him to give you what you were looking for at gunpoint?” 

 

Anna again said nothing. Was this how she operated? This couldn’t be what he taught her. “Did you think this was going to get you what you wanted?” He realized it was a pattern with her, and he despised both of them for it. “Is violence the only way you know how to solve things? With the speedster, at the cage match, even when talking things out with me. Why?”

 

“Because I need to do whatever it takes to save my brother!” Yes, but at what cost?

 

“I got it! I got the chip!” Felicity came into the bunker. “Oh. And what’s going on here?”

 

Oliver didn’t take his eyes off Anna. He was angry, of course, but he was mostly disappointed. In what he had taught her, in what she had learned from him. “We were just having a little chat about firearms safety.”

 

“Alright, then I’ll just be-”

 

“No, it’s fine. Stay. I need to look at the chemical workup anyway.” Anna went over to the computer. Felicity wordlessly gave Oliver a container of Chinese food and he sat down to eat it. He watched Felicity approach Anna and talk to her in soft tones. 

 

Of course, Oliver had threatened innocents before. Even after he came back from the island, he had just gotten used to it. But seeing Anna doing it was something else. She should be the one thing in his life that remains  _ good _ . Her and Felicity.

 

He saw Felicity put her hand on Anna’s shoulder and walk away. He liked the idea of the two of them getting close to each other. The two most important people in his life. Then he had another thought, perhaps the most frightening thought yet. Who was Anna’s mother? Anna was good at coding, had a stubborn streak and knew how to stand up for herself. His heart swelled with the thought that it could be Felicity. Could he really be that lucky? 

 

Roy, Laurel, and Dig came into the bunker, interrupting Oliver’s thoughts.

 

“So what are we up to tonight? Drug dealers? Cage fights? Mob bosses?” Roy was certainly in a good mood.

 

“Actually, just a basic patrol,” Oliver responded. “I’m pretty sure the streets will be quiet tonight.”

 

“Anna, are you coming with us?” Laurel asked. “We could always use an extra set of eyes out there.”

 

Oliver didn’t like the idea of putting her in danger again, especially with her injury count rising. “Anna has her own project to work on tonight. We’ll do just fine on our own.”

 

“What are you working on, mini-Felicity?” Roy asked Anna, causing Oliver’s heart to start beating like crazy. 

 

“Don’t call me that.”  _ Or not _ . “I just need to code this microchip. Doubt you’ll be able to help me, so I’m good here.” 

 

“Got it. I’ll back off.” Roy went to join the rest of his teammates in suiting up. 

 

They ended up going on a routine patrol, managing to only get shot at a few times. The streets were relatively quiet, and they gathered no new intel. The team got back to the bunker, and Oliver asked them not to bother Anna before sending them all home. Felicity came up to him and pulled him aside.

 

“I think you might’ve been a bit harsh on Anna earlier.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“She’s only trying to keep her brother safe. Think of everything you’ve gone through in the last through months to keep your own sister safe, and you’ll understand where Anna is coming from.” Felicity gave him a sympathetic look and left for the night.

 

Oliver couldn’t disagree. He had gotten in a duel with Ra’s al Ghul in order to keep his sister alive. Objectively, it was a dangerous move, and Anna wasn’t doing anything different. As always, Felicity was helping him to see clearly. He strode up to Anna, who was still diligently working on her chip.

 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have questioned your motives or intent. And I get wanting your brother to be safe, I do. I’d do anything for Thea.” 

 

“The things you accused me of...you weren’t all wrong. Sometimes, violence is the only way I know how to do things. I don’t always think through other options.” She wasn’t using violence now, was she? And she claimed to have not actually used the gun.

 

“That’s not true. Look at you now-you were able to use your smarts to get through to that inventor and you’re using them now to do...whatever it is you’re doing.”

 

“Then how is it that all I want to do right now is abandon this project and go kill that speedster?” Oliver completely understood that. He was wanting to kill the speedster himself.

 

“Because you’re only human. But your desire for revenge is overpowered by your desire to do the right thing.”

 

“And how do you know that?” Because she was better than him. 

 

“I know you.” He left her in peace so she could finish the code. He considered going to sleep, but he felt bad sleeping while she was still awake, so he returned to his training. 

 

After a few hours, though, he realized Anna wasn’t stopping. He decided to take a quick power nap and then check up on her. His dreams were a mess; he kept dreaming that Anna had been shot, but this time, she died. He woke up in a cold sweat. He couldn't allow that to happen. Oliver went to go check on Anna, and saw that she was still coding. Had she been at it all night?

 

“Still working on that?”

 

She didn’t break concentration from her work. “I’m not going to stop working until I’m finished. You should just get some sleep.”

 

“I did. And then I woke up.” 

 

“Oh. Well, I’m almost done. I think.”

 

“We could call in Felicity, see if she could help you. Two heads are better than one.” And the two of them seemed to be on the same wavelength earlier.

 

“No. Her seeing even one line of this code is dangerous. Even the program I’m using is from the future.”

 

“You look exhausted. Just take a few hours of rest.”

 

“I can’t. Momentum could come for this at any time today. I need it to be ready as soon as possible.” Why did she insist on being so stubborn? Was this what it was like working with him?

 

“You’ve been working non-stop all night and-”

 

“And my brother’s been kidnapped non-stop all night, so I’m not sure what your point is.” He knew a losing fight when he saw one. He walked away. He could forgive her crankiness for lack of sleep and food and too much stress and didn’t mind it. However, he could fix it.

 

He scrounged around the bunker before finding some instant oatmeal. He quickly made some up and brought it to Anna. “At least take two seconds to have something to eat.”

 

“I’m not-”

 

“Two. Seconds.” He wasn’t taking no for an answer. “We even have spoons this time.”

 

Oliver sat down and ate his along with hers. “Why are you doing this? Why didn’t you just call the police in the first place?” He wanted to know why she would decide to time travel by herself, when clearly there were other people to help her take care of it.

 

“I’m a vigilante dealing with time travel. You think the police would be any help?” No, but he would’ve been a lot of help. 

 

“Okay, then, your parents?”

 

“If I do this right, I’ll bring him back before my parents know he was ever missing. Perks of time travel.” 

 

What? She wasn’t even going to tell him she had done this? And what about the boy? Did Oliver not have any connection to him?

 

“You don’t think your parents would care that your brother went missing?”

 

“Oh, they’d care. They’d care too much.” 

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“My dad would put all the blame on me. He always does. And my mom...we try not to put too much stress on her. It’s for the best.” She thought Oliver would blame her for this? She was working non-stop to save her brother and she thought Oliver would react negatively to that? And what did she mean about her mom?

 

“You really think your dad would know you went through all this effort and still...blame you? You’re doing more than it would seem possible to keep your brother safe.”

 

I let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, well, he’s not one to dole out praise for the amount of effort they put in. He’s a results-oriented guy. And if Momentum hurts one hair on my brother’s head...yeah, best to not let him know.” She went back to her work.

 

“For what it’s worth I think...I think you’re doing amazing.” He was so proud of her. Why couldn’t she see that? And more importantly, why couldn't his future self?


	18. Chapter 18

“I got it!” Oliver ran up to Anna to see her finished work.

 

“You did?” He had no idea what he was looking at, but it made Anna happy, so he was as well.

 

“All I have to do now is deliver it to the speedster and trade it for my brother.” Ha. Like he was letting her go out on her own.

 

“You mean all we have to do.”

 

“You’re not coming with-”

 

“Yes, I am. Look, I get you not wanting to risk the others for the sake of the timeline, but I understand the risk and I’m willing to take it. I want to be there when it all goes down.” 

 

“Alright. Then suit up.”

 

It took Anna much longer than Oliver to get her suit on. He knew it wasn’t the whole “girls take longer to get ready” thing, so he wondered what was going through her head. Was she nervous about this mission? She hadn’t seemed so when going up against the speedster the last two times. Was she unsure of her device? Finally she came back into sight.

 

“Ready?” she asked.

 

“Ready.”

 

Anna directed him to a nearby warehouse, and he followed her inside. She was not being discreet. Oliver nocked an arrow and slowly turned on his feet, looking for any sign of the speedster.

 

“Momentum, we’re here! We have what you want! We’re ready to make the trade!” Within seconds, a purple man suddenly sped into view. The speedster.

 

“My, my, I see you brought a friend. No matter. Just as long as he knows he isn’t my true rival.” His voice had a slight cackle to it, like he thought the entire proceedings were amusing. 

 

“He knows. Now take me to my brother!”

 

“As you wish.” Suddenly, Oliver felt the wind being knocked out of him, and then he was being dropped down. He made his way to his feet, but all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. After a moment, he was able to straighten up. 

 

Anna was addressing the speedster. “No. I want a sign that my brother is unharmed. That was our deal.”

 

“Now, now, sweetheart, you’re not exactly one in the position to be making demands here. I could kill you all before you blink and still get what I want. The biostimulant, please.” What was a biostimulant? Is that what she had made?

 

She held it up and the speedster grabbed it from her in the blink of an eye. “You did well. You might have actually done this right. Now, to make sure there are no tricks…” 

 

Oliver was unaware of his surroundings again. All he felt was dizzy and cold. He was in the dark. He decided to remain sitting until the bout of nausea passed. When it did, he stood up and found that he could see again. There was light coming from Anna’s tablet. They were in a small space-a meat freezer by the looks of it. Great.

 

“There’s no way out,” Anna said.. “We’re trapped.”

 

Not for long. Oliver still had his quiver, meaning he still had some tricks up his sleeve. “Back up.” Anna did what he asked, and he nocked an explosive arrow in his quiver.

 

“No! He’s lined the doorway with explosives. You blow the door, you blow us up.” 

 

So much for that plan. He returned the arrow to his quiver. “Then I guess there’s nothing to do but sit back and wait for him to come get us.” Oliver sat down, figuring that once the speedster had tested the biostimulant, he would come back and make the trade with them.

 

“What did you just say?”

 

“We’ll have to sit back and wait.” Anna froze in panic, then collapsed against the wall across from Oliver.

 

“No no no no no no no”

 

“Anna, what is it?”

 

“Sit. Sitting. I didn’t take into consideration that the person with the biostimulant implanted would be fluctuating between sitting and standing positions. I designed it for someone sitting, a paralyzed person. But if they were to stand up….their vertebrae would crush it. The biostimulant is a failure.” Oliver didn’t understand any of that but the last sentence, and that wasn’t good. 

 

Oliver took off his mask and hood so he could look Anna in the eye. Reassure her that he wasn’t scared. Because the speedster couldn’t leave them here to die. The way he saw it, Anna was from the future. The future had already happened. This was proof he survived, so she would too.

 

“It’s going to be okay. Maybe he won’t notice the problem, or maybe he won’t...maybe he won’t hurt your brother. And we’ll find a way out of here.” 

 

She said nothing. Oliver needed her to know that everything was okay. He  _ needed _ it.

 

“Hey, Anna?” He slid up to her so he was directly in front of her.  “I promise you, I will save us.” 

 

She looked up at him. “And how do you know that?”

 

“Because I know.” He had to let her know. He had to see her. He took off her hood and mask. “I know you’re my daughter.”


	19. Chapter 19

“What are you talking about?” Anna asked him as if he were a crazy person. He wasn’t buying it. He laughed.

 

“Come on, Anna. I may be dense but I’m not that dense.” She just stared at him, with the tiniest bit of hope in her eyes.

 

“Your fighting style is exactly like mine. And even though you say that’s because I trained you, you know moves I learned in Russia that I would never teach anyone. You knew I’d been to Hong Kong, a fact I’ve only ever told one other person. But it’s also the little things. You pile your eggs with way too much salsa, which is something only I do and you know my favorite cereal. You’re from years in the future, not months, and you refuse to talk about it, even benign details. You’re stubborn to a fault and are unwilling to let anyone help you. That necklace you wear-I made that for John’s baby, in case it was a girl. I wouldn’t give it to just anyone. And when you took,” he placed his hand over her wound unconsciously, “when you took that bullet for me it felt like I’d still been shot. I’ve never felt like that before. You’re my daughter.” 

 

She paused stoically, but then she broke. She began to sob, heaving from the effort of it.

 

“Dad, I’m so sorry.” She launched herself into his arms. He didn’t know how to react for a second. But then he hugged her back. He held her for a long time, unwilling to let her go. She was shivering in his arms, and he rubbed his hands along her back, trying to transfer some body heat. 

 

“Shhhh, Anna, it’s okay.” It seemed like she finally had control of herself. She pulled back and looked at him.

 

“That’s...that’s not my name.” He was right. It was a fake name. “My name is Ryder. Ryder Laurel Queen.”

 

_ Laurel _ . Every first-born daughter in Laurel’s family had that as their middle name. She was Laurel’s daughter. A thousand thoughts passed through Oliver’s head in a few seconds. He loved Laurel, but not like that. Not anymore. There was someone else who occupied his every waking thought. But in the future, he ended up with Laurel. That wasn’t so bad. He could have a good, even great, life with Laurel. It just wouldn’t be the life he’d been imagining for himself for a while now.

 

He couldn’t let Anna-no, Ryder-think he was disappointed for even a second. He smiled at her. “Alright, Ryder.”

 

“Dad, I’m so sorry. I failed you. I let him get hurt and I can’t fix this. I don’t know how to fix this.”

 

“Why would you think you have to apologize? You have nothing to be sorry for. I have watched you do everything humanly possible to save your brother. I am so proud of you.” Another smile for Ryder. “I do have a question, though.”

 

“What?”

 

“Is your brother...is he my son, too?” Because if this was the way he felt when his daughter was in danger, he could only imaging what it felt like to know that his son had been kidnapped.

 

I smiled. “Yeah. He’s your son.” It hit Oliver like a punch to the gut. One part happiness that he had another child, and one part pure desperation to see him safe.

 

“What’s his name?”

 

“Tommy.”

 

_ Tommy _ . Oliver couldn’t stop himself. He felt himself tearing up. He had finally found a way to pay tribute to his best friend, by giving him the best part of himself. 

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. Here, let me show you something.”

 

Ryder took her tablet and began playing with it. When she found what she was looking for, she smiled. She showed it to him. It was a photo of four people. One was him, clearly much older, and there was a younger man sitting next to him. Then it was a picture of Ryder with an adorable brunette boy on her lap.  _ Tommy _ . There was a hand in Tommy’s lap, wearing his mother’s wedding ring on her ring finger.  _ His wife _ . 

 

Oliver couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this amount of joy. He began to cry.  “This is my...my family?”

 

“Yeah. That’s us.” How was it possible in such a horrible moment to feel such happiness? This was his future. This.

 

That still didn’t explain the young man next to Oliver. “Who’s that?” 

 

“That’s William.” A name Oliver had never heard before.

 

“Who’s William?” Was it a good friend of Oliver’s? 

 

“Just know that he’s going to love you. And we’re going to love him.” Not a friend then. Oliver decided to ignore that piece of information and instead focus on the hand with the ring on it. Since Ryder was being so forthcoming, he thought he might have a chance to have it confirmed. “Who’s your mom?”

 

“It’s best that I don’t tell you who Mom is.”

 

“Oh.” Disappointment. Why couldn’t she just tell him? Was she afraid he wasn’t going to like the answer? She put her tablet away. “But she was a good mom to you guys?”

 

The ghost of a smile lit Ryde’s face. “She was the best.”

 

“Good.” Ryder was shivering more fiercely now. Oliver moved to sit next to her and put his arm around her. He took her hood and tucked it around her face. He started rubbing her arms, trying desperately again to transfer his body heat to her. 

 

“We’re going to die here,” she said out of the blue. Yes, it was something Oliver had thought. But it wasn’t something that could happen.

 

“You can’t know that.”

 

“I know we’re in a situation there’s no way out of. I know that if you die, Tommy and I die.” This wasn’t how this conversation was going to go.

 

“Let’s think about a way out. Tell me about this speedster-what are his weaknesses?”

 

“Well, he’s not technically a speedster. He uses a drug that makes it seem like he’s a speedster.” Barry had never mentioned that that was possible. “But it seems like he’s only taking it in small doses to make sure it doesn’t affect him too much. The drug messes with your mind. He’s a psychopath.”

 

“Okay, so maybe we can catch him when he’s not speeding around.” He wasn’t on the drug all the time.

 

“He seems to be able to take the drug whenever he wants for speed. If he wants to be fast, he will be.”

 

“Is there a way we can use the drug against him? Counter the effects?” He wasn’t much for science, but it seemed that Ryder was.

 

“We don’t have anything to counter the effects.” She seemed to doze off for a second, so he shook her again. “We need something that can hasten the effects of cellular degeneration. We need him to use the drug more - create a situation where he needs to use speed more and more.” Get him to use up his speed purposefully? 

 

“Like an attack on two sides?”

 

“Exactly! He’s not that good of a fighter, and….” Ryder was losing it again. Her eyes drooped closed.

 

“Ryder, you have to stay awake.” He shook her harder and harder. “You can’t fall asleep, honey.” The nickname fell from his lips naturally. 

 

She had stopped shivering all together. That wasn’t a good sign. 

 

“Wake up. Ryder wake up!” But it was too late. She was asleep and he couldn’t wake her. He continued rubbing his arms up and down her arms and back, trying to keep her as warm as he could. He was more used to the cold, after all his time on Lian Yu and in Russia. Plus, he had gotten more rest and food than she had. He was better prepared for this mission. 

 

After a while, Oliver started to feel tired as well. But he knew he had to stay awake. His daughter needed for him to stay awake, so he did. 

 

Suddenly, he heard her voice. “Dad?” It was the most perfect thing he had ever heard.

 

“Oh, Ryder, oh, thank goodness.” 

 

“We’re going to-” The door opened. The speedster was back. 

 

“Queenie, I have to say I’m quite impressed. Although, not quite impressed enough to spare your brother.” The familiar feeling of being sped somewhere overwhelmed him. He again stayed on his hands and knees until he got his balance back. All he knew was they were in a warm room. Or, at least, warmer than the freezer.

 

“Where’s Tommy?” was the first thing he was able to hear once he got his senses functioning normally again.

 

“Patience. Young people these days don’t seem to have time for anything, not even a well-earned compliment.” 

 

She nocked an arrow. “Where. Is. My. Brother?”

 

“Where is my working biostimulant?”

 

“I gave you the microchip. Stop playing games!”

 

“No! You gave me a functioning implantable biostimulant for a human! Did you even take speedster physiology into account?” This entire conversation was way over Oliver’s head, but he had to trust Ryder.

 

“Stop fooling around. You’re not a speedster.”

 

He sped up to her. “Let’s see who’s not a speedster now, shall we?” And they were gone.

 

“Ryder?” he called out. Nothing. She was gone. Oliver figured now was a good time to look for his son. As soon as he had that thought, they were back in a burst of blue. Ryder landed on her knees. The speedster was in his face in seconds, holding up his hand to Oliver’s heart. It was shaking at an insane speed.

 

“Am I speedster enough for you now?” he called out to Ryder.

 

“Yes, you’re a speedster! Just let him go.” Enough of this. Oliver nocked an arrow and aimed it at the speedster.

 

“If you touch her one more time, I will sink this arrow through your heart.”

 

“Now, now, Daddy dearest, don’t be hasty. I’ve still got your sonny boy.” That made Oliver pause.  “Now, here’s how it’s going to go. I’m going to kill your brother in front of you, and you’re going to watch. That sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

 

Suddenly, a young boy appeared in the room.  _ Tommy _ . He was older than in the photo, but it was still clearly him. No time for hesitation. He let go of his arrow. The speedster caught it, and ran up to him at normal speed. They started fighting.

 

Ryder was right; the speedster wasn’t a particularly gifted fighter, but he was good at avoiding Oliver’s blows and speeding back with ones of his own. It wasn’t long before the speedster had him in a choke hold. As he gagged, he was able to see Anna. It looked like she was about to...inject herself with something.  _ The speed drug. She’s going to make herself a speedster _ . But she had said the drug was dangerous. He couldn’t let her do that. As if the speedster was reading his mind, he let go of Oliver a bit enough for him to shout.

 

“Ryder, no! This isn’t the way!”

 

“It’s the only way! I have to save Tommy!” At the cost of her own life? No. He’d find another way. He was her father. He was responsible for all of this.

 

“Ryder, I’m sorry! I never should’ve made you think that you weren’t good enough. I never should’ve put that burden on you. Not when it’s mine.” 

 

She smashed the vial, then grabbed her bow and shot an arrow at the speedster. He sped away, but not quickly enough. It sunk in his arm.

 

“It’s both of our responsibilities. We’re family, and that means we all take care of each other. Together.” 

 

The speedster tore the arrow out of his arm. “Silly girl, you lost your chance! I’ll show you what it means to be a real metahuman!” Oliver couldn’t see what he was doing, but Ryder gasped and shot another arrow at him. The speedster was able to dodge, but that left him open to a punch from Oliver.

 

Anna joined in the fight and they were able to double-team the speedster, just like they had talked about. The two of us fought in perfect harmony. Oliver supposed the fact that they had similar fighting styles was working to their advantage now.

 

Suddenly, the speedster began punching at nothing, faster and faster. It was like he was about to self-destruct.   
  


“Fall back!” Oliver did what Ryder said.

 

Slowly, his body disintegrated into blue sparks, until only his suit remained crumpled on the floor. 

 

“What just happened?”

 

She smiled. “We won.”


	20. Chapter 20

Ryder ran up to her brother and shook him. “Hey, buddy, you have to wake up.” Oliver ran up to her, unsure what to do. He watched Ryder riffle through Tommy’s pockets, and came out with two devices he didn’t recognize.

 

She took one and stabbed him with it. Oliver tried not to panic. She obviously wouldn’t hurt him, after everything they’d been through. Tommy took a giant gasp and came to, coughing.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here,” she said, rubbing his shoulder. She then took the other device and held it up to his mouth, helping him breath. “That’s it, you got this.”

 

“Ryder!” The two siblings gave each other a hug. “You saved me! But Momentum-”

 

“He’s gone. He’s dead. You’re safe now.”

 

After a long while, Tommy let go of Ryder. That’s when he saw Oliver. Oliver looked into his son’s eyes and felt his whole world change. “Dad!” 

 

He launched himself into Oliver’s arms, and Oliver again felt uneasy. But then like with his daughter, he couldn’t find the strength in himself to let go. 

 

“Hey, buddy. I’m glad you’re safe.” 

 

He drew back from Oliver’s hug, and then looked at his face confused. “You shaved. And you dyed your hair and...oh.” Tommy scooted even further back from Oliver.  _ He knew _ . _ Smart kid. _

 

His sister turned him toward her. “Tommy, we time travelled. We’re in the past. Dad hasn’t had us yet. But I told him all about how awesome you are and he helped me rescue you.”

 

The kid held out his hand for Oliver to shake. “Hi, Dad, I’m Tommy.”

 

Oliver laughed. “Hi, Tommy, it’s nice to meet you. I’m really excited that I’m going to be your dad someday.”

 

“Good. Because I really like being your son.” Oliver couldn’t help it. He found himself tearing up again at his son’s words.  _ His son _ . He didn’t think he’d ever get used to that.

 

Ryder interrupted his happy moment. “Hey, guys, we really need to get going. We’re very close to creating a paradox and my boyfriend’s dad will kill me if I do that.”  _ Wait, she had a what now? _

 

“Boyfriend?” That was not going to fly with him. “He better not have been born yet, because if so, he’s way too old for you.”

 

Ryder just laughed in his face. “That never stopped you from trying to set me and John up.” Her and Diggle Jr?

 

“I did what now?” Well, there were worse things in this world. At least he could trust John Jr.  “Actually, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. The Queen and Diggle families finally uniting.”

 

His kids looked at each other and scoffed. Apparently this was some kind of joke between the two of them. 

 

Ryder took Oliver and Tommy outside, and started playing around on her tablet again.

 

“Are you going to call Felicity to come pick us up?” Oliver asked.

 

“She’s probably busy, but Dig can come get us.” She made the call, then leaned down to Tommy. “Now, Tommy, you have to pretend like you don’t know Dig. You can do that, right?”

 

“Yeah, I can do that.” But why should he have to? Oliver would just explain to Dig the situation, and they could all be together.

 

“Why? He’s my son, of course he knows my best friend.”

 

Ryder sighed. “Because we can’t just go around telling everyone that Tommy is your son. Or that I’m your daughter. We’re tiptoeing on creating a paradox as it is; I don’t want any more mistakes.”  _ Mistakes? _

 

“You think telling me all of this was a mistake?”

 

Ryder looked like she regretted her words. “No, of course not. I just...I need to keep things in control. You can understand that, can’t you?”

 

Of course he did. He was living two lives as it was now; he could understand her desire to do the same, even if he didn’t understand the metaphysics behind it. Dig came by in the van, and they all piled in. 

 

Tommy was in the back, and asked Oliver, “This van doesn’t have seat belts. What if we get in an accident?” Apparently he was incredibly safety-conscious.

 

Oliver had no idea what to say, so he looked at Ryder. “Don’t worry buddy, my friend is a very safe driver.” 

 

Dig looked at Ryder in the rearview mirror. “I see you got your brother back. Does that mean our future speedster’s gone for good?”

 

“Yes. We won’t be hearing from him any longer.”

 

Dig smiled. “I knew you’d work it out.”

 

It sounded like the kids were playing a game in the back of the van, so Oliver addressed Diggle.

 

“It’s been a crazy day.”

 

“Yeah, it seems it’s been that way ever since Anna walked into your life.”

 

“You could say that.”

 

“How was fighting that speedster?”

 

“It was brutal. Not as bad as when we had to fight Barry, but still. I think I’m going to retire from fighting speedsters for a while now.”

 

“That’s probably a good idea. I’ll join you in that, man.”

 

They got back to the bunker, and he was immediately met by the sound of Felicity’s voice.

 

“Oliver Queen, where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.” She pointed at her computer display to show that she had employed a wide range of devices attempting to find him.  

 

“It’s alright, Felicity, I’m back”

 

“Where have you been?”

 

“Ry...Anna and I went to go make the exchange with the speedster. It was successful...obviously. That’s her brother.”

 

Felicity looked at Tommy. “So this is your little brother? He’s cute.”  _ But not yours _ . “Hi, I’m Felicity.”

 

“Hi, I’m-” Ryder coughed. “I’m Robbie. It’s nice to meet you.” Wow, he was good at lying for his sister. They were clearly close. That made Oliver extremely happy.

 

Felicity turned to Ryder. “So you can go home now? I mean, back to the future? Wow, I’ve always wanted to say that. How do you plan on getting home? No more speedster means no more time travel, right?”

 

“A Traveller always has a back-up plan. And in this case, I’m going to call one of my friends to come get me. I was hoping I could interface my tablet with any kind of satellite network you may be hacked into to boost the signal?”

 

“Would the NSA network work?”

 

“Perfect.” Had Felicity taught her how to hack in the future? They were really on the same wavelength now. Ryder ran off to start her tech magic.

 

“So now this little kid knows your secret identity, and that doesn’t bother you? I thought you had very strict rules.” Felicity seemed curious. Oliver would be, too, if he didn’t know the whole truth. Time to see if he could lie as fast as Ryder.

 

“He already knew who I was. Apparently Anna told him at some point.” This half-truth thing really had a lot of potential.

 

“Huh.”

 

As Ryder continued her hacking, Laurel and Roy came down. Oliver asked them to suit up. He figured once he got Ryder and Tommy out of there, there would be time for another patrol. Ryder finally finished. “I sent a friend of mine a location to come pick me up. He’ll be ready in half an hour.” 

 

Oliver nodded. “Dig and I can take you where you need to go, and we’ll swing by to pick up the Ducati on the way back.”

 

Ryder started on her good-byes, and Oliver paid close attention to see what information he could glean from them. She shook hands with Roy. “Thanks for your advice. Turns out you were right.”  _ When had he given her advice? _

 

“I always am.”

 

Then a handshake for Laurel. “It was good to meet you.”

 

“You, too. And I hear you made a pretty good Black Canary.” Ryder seemed to be in pain at that statement.  _ Why was that? Why was she always acting so distant towards her mother? _

 

Then a hug for Felicity.  _ Huh _ . “Thanks for all the help with the inventions. Oh,” and she pulled something out of her suit, “here’s your gauntlet back. Tell Dr. Palmer thanks.”

 

“No problem. Happy coding!” Ryder seemed to like that phrase.

 

The crew headed back into the van. Ryder had him steer them to some undeveloped land just outside of the city. It looked like it was being zoned residentially. She climbed toward the front and shook Dig’s hand.

 

“Thanks for everything. And take good care of John.”  _ Who apparently she doesn’t end up dating _ .

 

“You can count on it.”

 

Oliver followed the kids out of the van. “Any particular reason you chose this spot?”

 

Ryder smiled. “Nah, just thought it was pretty. Plus this seems like a nice tree.” Tommy laughed. So his instincts were right: they were going to live here eventually.

 

Oliver looked at them, trying to hide the pain and longing on his face. “How long?”

 

Ryder looked puzzled. “How long until what?”

 

“How long until I get to meet you?”

 

“We’ll be here before you know it.” That somehow didn’t seem soon enough.

 

“I’m so proud of you. Of both of you. You’re so strong, and you take care of each other. That’s all I could ever want.” Both Tommy and Oliver began to cry. Oliver leaned down to Tommy. “Hey, buddy, it’s alright. I’m going to be waiting for you on the other side.”

 

“But-” 

 

“We know.”  _ Why had Ryder cut Tommy off? What had he been about to say? Was he not a good father? _

 

“Any advice for the future?” he asked Ryder.

 

“Just be yourself. That’s all either of us want.” Oliver nodded. Ryder titled her head, as if she heard something he didn’t. “It’s time for you to go.”

 

Oliver reached for Tommy and held him tight. Then he did the same for Ryder.  _ Why was this so hard? He’s not their dad, not yet _ . And yet it felt like he already was. “Good-bye.”

 

“Bye, Dad.” Ryder finally cried. 

 

“Bye, Dad. We love you.” This from Tommy.

 

Oliver backed up toward the van until he felt like he couldn’t look at them anymore. Then he turned around and walked forward. Getting in the van, he waved at them one last time before telling Dig to take off.

 

“You seemed to have gotten really close to them, man.”

 

“Yeah, they’re good kids.”

 

“I’m excited to have Anna on the team someday.”

 

“So am I.”

 

“It’s a long way off, though.”

 

“It’s closer than we think.” And Oliver smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it for this story. I'll start posting the sequel to "It's a Hard Love" tomorrow. It's called "To Die So Others Can Live" and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!


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